Dictionary of Space Concepts
What is the Dictionary of Space Concepts?
The Dictionary of Space Concepts (DSC) is a project by UNIVERSEH – the European Space University of Earth and Humanity. Starting in 2020, this Alliance of five European Universities decided to launch an online dictionary dealing with terms and concepts related to space sciences. It should be created and used by students, lecturers, researchers and citizens alike.
After an initial planning phase, the DSC was published in spring 2022. It opens up several opportunities for all members of the UNIVERSEH Alliance and interested citizens to contribute to the content of the DSC.
In our course "Terms and Concepts of Space" (to the registration) , students learn how to write a dictionary article and later on contribute several entries to the DSC. Students and other members of the UNIVERSEH Alliance can also submit articles for the DSC via an entry in here . Interested citizens can contribute in this entry platform.
Once submitted, these articles are reviewed by UNIVERSEH Alliance staff and, if necessary, edited before their publication in the Dictionary.
In this way, the DSC is a dynamic project that is constantly expanding in content and quality through constant contributions from students, staff and citizens.
Currently sorted By last update ascending Sort chronologically: By last update
Venus | |||
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 Source: Hecht, M. (2012, June 5). Venus Transit. flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/76858203@N04/23105554654 Definition:Venus is the planet with the second closest orbit to the Sun. Venus is our inner neighbor in space in the Solar System. It is a celestial body located just 40 million kilometers far from the Earth. Venus resembles the earth in the main parameters: size, mass, density and internal structure almost match. Etymology:In Roman mythology (= ancient stories), the goddess (= female god) of beauty and love. Translations:
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Volcano | ||
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Image:  Image: Source: https://www.dw.com/en/volcanic-eruptions-can-cool-the-planet/a-40727123 Short Definition: A volcano is a hill or mountain with a hole where lava, rocks, or gas may be seen erupting from a planet or moon's interior. Detailed Definition: A crack in the earth's crust through which substances such as lava, steam, ashes, etc. are released continually or sporadically. Volcanoes are known to exist on the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, the Moon, Mars, and the moon Io of Jupiter. Only two of these bodies currently have active volcanoes: Earth and Io. However, Venus or Europa, the moon of Jupiter, may have volcanoes erupting. Etymology: Volcano comes from the Latin Vulcanus, which is the name of the fire god. Sample Sentence(s): The volcano's lava was pouring down the mountainside. On the seabed of Jupiter's moon Europa, there has been volcanic activity. Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages French: volcan German: Vulkan Polish: wulkan Swedish: vulkan Links to Videos/Articles: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/topic/volcanoes https://chandra.harvard.edu/press/10_releases/press_081810.html | ||
White Dwarf | |||
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Image/Video/Audio:  Image/Video/Audio: Picture: A white dwarf Image/Video/Audio Source: File:White dwarf.jpg - Wikimedia Commons. (2011, April 5). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_dwarf.jpg Short Definition:
White dwarfs, or cold stars, is a term often used to describe stars in the final stages of their evolution. These stars, which lose their energy sources and cannot perform fusion reactions, are the stars that tend to squeeze into themselves due to the gravitational law. This phenomenon was firstly discovered by the British astronomer 'William Herschel' in 1783.
Detailed Definition:
As one of the densest stellar remnants in space, white dwarfs are stars that have run out of most of their nuclear fuel and tend to collapse inwards. These stars, which are relatively Earth-sized and composed entirely of carbon and oxygen mass, are less than 1.4 solar masses when their cores are stable, but they tend to suffer constant heat and radiation loss because they do not undergo any fusion process. According to NASA's calculations, the core temperatures of white dwarfs can reach up to 100,000 Kelvin. Apart from the carbon and oxygen mass that make up their core, their envelope are surrounded by thin helium and in some cases hydrogen atoms.
Etymology:
White - from Proto-Indo-European (ḱweydós) Dwarf - from Proto-Germanic (dwergaz) (white - Wiktionary. (n.d.). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/white) (dwarf - Wiktionary. (n.d.). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dwarf)
Sample Sentence(s):
‘’White dwarfs evolve from stars with an initial mass of up to three or four solar masses or even possibly higher.’’ (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). White dwarf star | Definition, Size, Mass, Life Cycles, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/white-dwarf-star) ‘’White
dwarfs reach this incredible density because they are collapsed so
tightly that their electrons are smashed together, forming what is
called "degenerate matter.’’ (Dobrijevic, D., & Tillman, N. T. (2022, March 4). White dwarfs: Facts about the dense stellar remnants. Space.com. https://www.space.com/23756-white-dwarf-stars.html)
Translations of Terms/Concepts into Partner Languages: French:
Naine blanche German:
Weißer Zwerg Polish:
Biały karzeł Swedish:
Vit dvärg Turkish:
Beyaz Cüce Links to Videos/Articles:
Dobrijevic, D., & Tillman, N. T. (2022, March 4). White dwarfs: Facts about the dense stellar remnants. Space.com. https://www.space.com/23756-white-dwarf-stars.html Kurzgesagt
– In a Nutshell. (2017, May 4). The Last Light Before Eternal
Darkness – White Dwarfs & Black Dwarfs [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsN1LglrX9s The
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). White dwarf
star | Definition, Size, Mass, Life Cycles, & Facts. Encyclopedia
Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/white-dwarf-star White Dwarfs. (2021, May 4). Science. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/white-dwarfs | |||
Accretion disc | |||
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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_hole_-_Messier_87_crop_max_res.jpg Short Definition: An accretion disk is a structure, which is an amalgamation of gas, plasma or particles around the black hole. It is attracted by the gravitational pull and orbits the black hole while it slowly spirals into it, so it is a phenomenon that describes the way how a big celestial body amasses matter like black holes. Detailed Definition: One can not observe black holes or their event horizon, but since black holes have accretion disks, which are a type of structure and accumulations of gas, plasma or particles that were attracted by the huge gravitational pull of black holes. Humans are able to see those accretion disks, because the spinning matter is so fast, which in turn generates heat and emits x-rays and gamma rays. The high amount of angular momentum makes it impossible for the matter to simply fall into the black hole like it would on earth or one would think. Angular momentum decreases despite there being no friction in space, because of turbulence, which is caused by the fact that rotation increases the effect of magnetic fields. Temperatures in the accretion disks tend to vary quite a bit, which is determined by the composition of the accretion disk and its source. Temperatures can go from a few thousand to a few million Kelvin. Etymology: Accretion from Latin ad+ crescere-->accrescere--->accretionem Disk from Latin discus
Sample Sentence(s):
The accretion disk is the natural consequence of how gravitational pull attracts matter and makes it impossible to simply fall into the black hole. Many people think they saw a picture of a black hole, but in reality they only saw a picture of its accretion disk.
French: disque d’accrétion German: Akkretionsscheibe Polish: Dysk akrecyjny Swedish: Accretionsskiva Links to Videos/Articles: GMS: Black Hole Accretion Disk Visualization (nasa.gov) | |||
