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Glossary of Astronomy Terms beginning with letter S
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Sagitta proper noun (constellation) A small autumn constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble an arrow. It lies between the constellations of Vulpecula and Aquila. Sagittarius proper noun (constellation): A constellation of the zodiac supposedly shaped like an archer. (astrology): The Zodiac sign for the archer, covering November 22 - December 21. Sat. abbreviation Saturday saturated satellite noun Object orbiting a celestial object. The moon is a natural of the Earth. Many telecommunication satellites* orbit at 36000km above the equator.* adjective Transmitted via a radio signal from an artifical satellite. satellite TV satellite phone Saturn proper noun Roman god of fertility and agriculture. The second largest planet in the earth's solar system, famous for its big rings; represented in astronomy and astrology by â™„. Saturnian proper noun An imaginary inhabitant of the planet Saturn. adjective relate, Related to the planet Saturn. Related to the Roman god Saturn. dour, Dour, baleful or sullen facial expression. scorpion noun Any of various arachnids of the order Scorpiones, related to the spiders, characterised by two large front pincers and a curved tail with a poisonous sting in the end. sculptor noun A person who sculpts. An artist who produces sculpture. Scutum proper noun (constellation) A small autumn constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a shield. It lies between the constellations of Aquila, Sagittarius, and the tail of Serpens. SEA abbreviation Southeast Asia sea serpent noun any unidentified sea monster, especially one resembling a snake or dragon season noun (plural seasons) Each of the four divisions of a year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. A part of a year when something particular happens: mating season, rainy season, football season. (Obsolete) that which gives relish You lack the season of all natures, sleep. w:Shakespeare, Shakespeare (cricket) the period over which a series of test matches are played sector noun section zone a part of a circle, extending to the center (computing) a fixed-sized unit (traditionally 512 bytes) of sequential data stored on a track of a digital medium (compare to block) (Military) An area designated by boundaries within which a unit operates, and for which it is responsible. (Military) One of the subdivisions of a coastal frontier. (scifi) a fictional region of space designated for navigational or governance purposes; for instance, W:Sector (Star Trek), W:List of Star Wars sectors selenography noun the scientific study of the moon selenology noun (pural: selenologies) The study of the moon and several satellites. Set proper noun (also Seth) An ancient Egyptian god, variously described as the god of chaos, the god of thunder and storms, or the god of destruction. sextant noun (nautical): A navigational device for deriving angular distances between objects so as to determine latitude and longitude. (mathematics): One sixth of a circle or disc; a sector with an angle of 60°. shooting star noun A meteor; a streak of light in the night sky, caused by a meteoroid burning up as it enters the Earth"s atmosphere. The Dodecatheon genus of flowering plants. shower noun (also shower of precipitation) A brief fall of precipitation. Today there will be frequent showers and some sunny spells. (also shower bath) A device for bathe, bathing by which water is made to fall on the body from a height, either from a tank or by the action of a pump. (also shower bath) An instance of using of this device in order to bathe oneself. I'm going to have a shower. (British, Australian) I'm going to take a shower. (especially US) A bridal shower; a fund-raiser held in honor of a bride attended by female friends of the bride. The shower will be held at the home of the bridesmaid. A baby shower. A mild insult, originally applied to a group of people but also to an individual. You complete shower! verb (followed by with) To spray with (a specified liquid). To bathe using a shower. sickle noun an agricultural implement, having a semicircular blade and short handle, used for cutting long grass and cereal crops verb (sickle, sickling, sickled, sickles) (transitive) To cut with a sickle (transitive) To deform (as with a red blood cell) into an abnormal crescent shape. (intransitive) To assume an abnormal crescent shape. Used of red blood cells. adjective Shaped like the blade of a sickle; crescent-shaped. a sickle moon sidereal adjective Of or relating to the stars. (astronomy) Relating to a measurement of time relative to the position of the stars. sidereal time noun (astronomy) Time measured by the apparent diurnal motion of the vernal equinox; approximated by that based on the rotation of the Earth relative to the stars sidereal year noun The orbital period of the Earth; a measure of the time it takes for the Sun to return to the same position with respect to the stars of the celestial sphere. A sidereal year equals 365.25636042 mean solar days, or 20 minutes and 24 seconds longer than the tropical year. Sirius proper noun (star) A bluish-white star in the constellation Canis Major; Alpha (Î±) Canis Majoris. A vertex of the Winter Triangle and the brightest star in the night sky. It is actually a binary star with a white dwarf companion star. solar noun (obsolete) A loft or upper chamber forming the private accommodation of the head of the household in a medieval hall; a garret room. adjective Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from the sun; as, the solar system; solar light; solar rays; solar influence. (context, astrology, obsolete) Born under the predominant influence of the sun. Measured by the progress or revolution of the sun in the ecliptic; as, the solar year. Produced by the action of the sun, or peculiarly affected by its influence. solar constant noun the amount of incoming solar radiation per unit area, measured on the outer surface of Earth's atmosphere, in a plane perpendicular to the rays. solar day noun the time taken for the earth (or any other planet) to rotate once on its axis the time between successive noons solar eclipse noun (astronomy) A phenomenon occurring when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun solar flare noun a violent explosion in the Sun's atmosphere solar mass noun (astronomy) a unit, equal to the mass of the sun, used to express the mass of other stars etc solar prominence noun Large eruptions of luminous hydrogen gas that rise thousands of kilometers above the chromosphere of the Sun. Solar System proper noun the solar, Solar system, System The Sun and all the heavenly body, heavenly bodies that orbit around it, including the eight planets, their moons, the asteroids and comets. solar wind noun The outflow of charged particles from the solar corona into space. Because of the high temperature of the particles of the corona, they are moving at speeds higher than the solar escape velocity. South proper noun (wikipedia, The South) the South The Confederacy during the American Civil War. The southern states of the United States. The southern part of any region. southern adjective Of, facing, situated in, or related to the south. Of or pertaining to a southern region, especially Southern Europe. The southern climate. Of a wind: blowing from the south; southerly. Southern Cross proper noun (wikipedia, Crux) southern, Southern cross, Cross (constellation): A distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross. It appears in the flags of several countries in Oceania. South Pole noun south, South pole, Pole (geography) The southernmost point on Earth; that point in Antarctica where Earth's axis of rotation passes through Earth's surface. (geography) Earth's magnetic south pole. (geography) Earth's geomagnetic south pole. spectral type noun (astronomy) an indication of the physical and chemical characteristics of a star based on the spectrum of light that it emits spherical adjective (geometry) shaped like a sphere. (geometry) (no comparative or superlative) of or relating to a sphere or spheres. spring noun (countable) Traditionally the first of the four seasons, in which plants spring from the ground and trees come into blossom; typically regarded as being from March 21 to June 20 in the Northern Hemisphere and from September 21 to December 20 in the Southern Hemisphere. (countable) Spring tide; a tide of greater-than-average range, that is, around the first or third quarter of a lunar month, or around the times of the new or full moon. (countable) A place where water emerges from the ground. (uncountable) The property of a body of springing to its original form after being compressed, stretched, etc. (countable) A mechanical device made of flexible or coiled material that exerts force when it is bend, bent, compressed or stretched. (context, countable, nautical) A rope attaching the bow of a vessel to the stern-side of the jetty, or vice versa, to stop the vessel from swaying. (context, countable, slang) An erection of the penis. (countable) The source of an action 1748. David Hume. Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral. London: Oxford University Press, 1973, Â§ 9. : ... discover, at least in some degree, the secret springs and principles, by which the human mind is actuated in its operations? verb (springs, springing, sprang, sprung) To start to exist. Sometimes the ideas to life fully formed. To jump or leap. He sprang* up from his seat.* (slang) To release or set free, especially from prison. star noun A luminous celestial body, made up of plasma (particularly hydrogen and helium), forming a sphere. Thousands of stars are visible in the night sky. Depending on context the sun may or may not be included. (figurative) A person or thing held as a positive example. A star athlete. (rfd-redundant) A celebrity or noteworthy performer. verb (star, r, ed) To appear as a featured performer or headliner, especially in an entertainment program; see (3) above. star cloud noun (astronomy) A large group of many stars spread over very many light-years of space; the stars are not part of any structure but are in an area of greater than average stellar density star cluster noun (astronomy) a group of gravity, gravitationally bound stars starlight noun Light emitted from stars other than the Sun starquake noun (star) A violent tremor or quake that occurs on the surface of a star, especially a collapsed star stern noun (nautical) The rear part or after end of a ship or vessel. adjective grim, has hardness or severity of nature or manner streamer noun a long, narrow flag, or piece of material used as a decoration a newspaper headline that runs across the entire page (computing) a data storage system, mainly used to produce backups, in which large quantities of data are transferred to a continuously moving tape (context, fishing) in fly fishing, a variety of wet fly designed to mimic a minnow Summer proper noun (given name, female) of modern usage, for someone born in summer. summer solstice noun (Astronomy) The moment when the Earth is in that point of its orbit where the northern or southern hemisphere is most inclined toward the sun. Note: When it is summer solstice in one hemisphere, it is winter solstice in the other. Sun proper noun The star at the center of our solar system, represented in astronomy and astrology by â˜‰. (newspapers) An English tabloid newspaper sunrise noun The time of day when the sun appears above the eastern horizon. I'll meet you at the docks at . The change in color of the sky at sunrise. Did you see the beautiful this morning? (figurative) Any great awakening. It was the of her spirit. adjective Pertaining to an unusually early time of day. The -service will be at 6:30AM. sunset noun The time of day when the sun disappears below the western horizon. The changes in color of the sky at sunset. (figuratively) The final period of the life or a person or thing. (attributively) Of or relating to the final period of the life of a person or thing. one's years sunspot noun A region on the sun's surface with a lower temperature than its surroundings and intense magnetic activity. superluminal adjective faster-than-light supernova noun (pl2=supernovae) (astronomy) A star which explodes, increasing its brightness to typically a billion times that of our sun, though attenuated by the great distance from our sun. Some leave only debris (Type I); others fade to invisibility as neutron stars (Type II). swan noun Any of various long-necked waterfowl, of genera Cygnus or Olor, most of which have white plumage. verb to swan To travel from place to place with no fixed itinerary or purpose. synodic month noun a month of approximately 29.53 days, measured from a lunar phase until the return of that same phase. The long-term average duration is 29.530 588 days (29 d 12 h 44 min 2.8 s), or about 29 Â½ days. the variably cyclic period from one new moon until the next. syzygy noun (syzyg, ies) (context, astronomy, astrology) A kind of unity, namely an alignment of three celestial bodies (for example, the Sun, Earth, and Moon) such that one body is directly between the other two, such as occurs at an eclipse (psychology) An archetypal pairing of contrasexual opposites, symbolizing the communication of the conscious and unconscious minds (mathematics) A relation between generator, generators of a module (medicine) The fusion of some or all of the organs (zoology) The association of two protozoa end-to-end or laterally for the purpose of asexual exchange of genetic material (zoology) The pairing of chromosome, chromosomes in meiosis

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