Words to Know (from Stairways to the Stars)

 

celestial sphere

circumpolar

constellations

dark cloud constellations

draconic month

ecliptic

equinoxes (March and September)

helical rising and setting

intercalation

Julian calendar

lunar calendar

lunar standstill

lunistice

Metonic cycle

nadir

nodes

retrograde motion

saros cycle

sidereal month

solar calendar

solstices (June and December)

synodic month

synodic period of Venus (“Venus Year”)

tropics (Cancer and Capricorn)

zenith

zenith passage

zodiac

 

Aubrey Holes

Heel Stone

henge

Mesoamerica

sexagesimal system

vigesimal system

 

(From Seeing and Believing)

 

aberration of light

absolute magnitude

absorption spectrum

brightness

camera obscura

cepheid variable

continuous spectrum

diffraction grating

emission spectrum

HR diagram

island universe

light year

luminosity

nebula

parallax

parsec

proper motion

reflecting telescope

refracting telescope

spectroscope

Stefan-Boltzman Law

Wien’s Law

zone of avoidance