General astronomy

General astronomy

Industry: Astronomy

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General astronomy

luminosity

Astronomy; General astronomy

the total amount of energy radiated by an object every second.

lunar eclipse

Astronomy; General astronomy

when the shadow of the Earth hits the Moon at exactly full phase.

magnetic dynamo

Astronomy; General astronomy

a mechanism thought to produce magnetic fields in a planet by the swirling, or circulation, of liquid conducting material in or near the planet's core.

magnifying power

Astronomy; General astronomy

the ability of telescope to enlarge images. Can be increased by using an eyepiece with a shorter focal length.

used to quantify brightness. Based on the ancient system of Hipparchus but refined and quantified for measurements today such that a ratio of 100 in brightness corresponds to a magnitude difference ...

main sequence

Astronomy; General astronomy

the narrow diagonal band in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram going from upper left to lower right describing the characteristics of 90% of the stars. Stars spend about 90% of their lives in this stage ...

main sequence turnoff

Astronomy; General astronomy

the mass of the most massive main sequence star remaining in a star cluster. Stars more massive than the turnoff have already evolved beyond the main sequence stage. The turnoff mass can be used to ...