Astronomy Glossary

Stellar Objects

A magnetar is a neutron star with an extraordinarily powerful magnetic field (10^14-10^15 Gauss), the strongest magnetic fields known in the Universe.

Solar System

A magnetosphere is the region around a planet dominated by its magnetic field, where the field deflects the solar wind and traps charged particles.

Stellar Objects

Main sequence stars are in the stable, longest phase of stellar life, fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores.

Telescopes Equipment

Maksutov-Cassegrain telescopes use a thick meniscus corrector lens instead of Schmidt's aspheric plate, creating compact, sealed instruments.

Units Distance

A megaparsec equals one million parsecs (3.26 million light-years), the standard unit for cosmological distances.

Solar System

A meteor is the visible light phenomenon ("shooting star") when a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere at high speed and burns due to friction, typical...

Solar System

A meteorite is a meteoroid fragment that survives atmospheric entry and lands on Earth's surface, providing direct samples of Solar System materials.

Solar System

A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic object in space, typically debris from asteroids or comets, ranging from dust grains to boulder-sized chunks.