Space exploration began with the launch of Sputnik and Astrophysics was born as the application of physics to the phenomena observed by Astronomy, which etymologically means laws of the stars.
There are 2759 entries in this glossary.| Term | Definition |
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| Carrington Rotation Number |
A number that identifies each rotation of the Sun. The sequence began with rotation number one on 9 November 1853. The system was started by R. C. Carrington, who employed the average synodic rotation rate for sunspots, which he had determined as 27.2753 days. Since the Sun does not rotate as a solid body, the rate actually varies with latitude.
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