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General astronomy
Industry: Astronomy
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General astronomy
annular eclipse
Astronomy; General astronomy
a type of solar eclipse that happens when the Sun and Moon are exactly lined up but the Moon is too far away from the Earth to totally block the Sun's surface. A ring (annulus) of sunlight is seen ...
aphelion
Astronomy; General astronomy
point in an object's orbit around the Sun that is furthest from the Sun.
apparent magnitude
Astronomy; General astronomy
the apparent brightness of an object measured by an observer at an arbitrary distance away.
asteroid
Astronomy; General astronomy
boulder to mountain-sized piece of rock remaining from the early solar system. The largest asteroid is only 1000 kilometers across but most are much smaller.
astrology
Astronomy; General astronomy
a non-scientific belief system in which the positions of the planets among the stars are thought to hold the key to understanding what you can expect from life.
astrometric technique (planet detection)
Astronomy; General astronomy
a method of finding exoplanets by looking for a periodic wobbling motion of a star on the plane of the sky.
astronomical unit
Astronomy; General astronomy
(A.U.): average distance between the Earth and the Sun (149.6 million kilometers). Used for interplanetary distances.