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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| Orbit |
The path followed by a body moving in a gravitational field. For bodies moving under the influence of a centrally directed force, without significant perturbation, the shape of the orbit must be one of the conic section family of curves - it must be a circle, an ellipse, a parabola or a hyperbola.
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