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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| Vulcan |
A hypothetical planet travelling round the Sun within the orbit of Mercury for which searches were made during the late nineteenth century. It is now known not to exist.
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| Vulpecula The Fox |
A faint constellation, next to Cygnus, introduced by J. Hevelius in 1690 with the longer name Vulpecula et Anser - the fox and goose - which was subsequently shortened to its present form. It contains no stars brighter than fourth magnitude, but does include the noted planetary nebula known as the Dumbbell Nebula.
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| Vv Cephei Star |
A member of a class of supergiant binary stars with emission line spectra. The primary is a supergiant of spectral type G or M and the secondary a hot B star. Fewer than twenty are known.
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