#astro

• Abul Feda — The Latinized name of Abu al-Fida (Isma'il ibn Ali ibn Mahmud al-Ayyubi), a prominent Kurdish prince, historian, geographer, and astronomer of the Ayyubid dynasty, who governed as the emir of Hama (Syria). He is globally recognized for his foundational encyclopedic writings, particularly 'Taqwim al-Buldan' (Sketch of the Countries), a monumental work of descriptive geography, and his universal historical chronicle, which served as essential bridges of knowledge between the medieval East and the European West, his name also being honored by a lunar crater.
• Abul Vefa — The Latinized name of Abu al-Wafa al-Buzjani (Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Ismail ibn al-Abbas al-Buzjani), a legendary Persian mathematician and astronomer who flourished in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age. He is considered one of the fathers of modern trigonometry, having introduced the secant and cosecant functions, perfected sine and tangent tables, and developed foundational trigonometric identities still used today in complex astronomical and geometric calculations.
• Lollipop — A delightful confectionery product, spherical, discoid, or spiraled in shape, made by boiling and solidifying granulated sugar or glucose syrup, enriched with various flavorings and food colorings. Its defining structural element is the rigid stick (made of wood, plastic, or pressed paper) on which it is fixed, designed to facilitate clean and prolonged consumption. Beyond its culinary role, the lollipop is a universal symbol of childhood, nostalgia, and pop culture, embedded in countless artistic expressions and festive traditions.
• Achalasia — A rare primary motor disorder of the esophagus, characterized by the absence of normal peristalsis in the esophageal body and the defective or incomplete relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter during swallowing. This neurodegenerative condition leads to food accumulation in the esophagus, causing its progressive dilation, clinically manifesting as dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), regurgitation, retrosternal pain, and weight loss.
• Acamas — The primary onomastic variant of the Greek mythological hero Acamante (son of Theseus), frequently used in classical Hellenic texts (such as Homer's Iliad). In the contemporary era, the term was adopted in astronomy to name an asteroid from the Jovian trojan group (136199 Acamas), which orbits near the planet Jupiter. Geographically, the name also designates a peninsula and a protected national park located at the northwestern tip of the island of Cyprus.
• Acronychal — Pertaining to acrony; located outside of time or independent of the linear temporal succession. In ancient and classical astronomy, the term describes the acronychal rising of a star or planet, occurring exactly at the moment of sunset (or vice versa), representing a geometric position diametrically opposed to the sun.
• Actaea — A term with multiple contexts; in botany, it represents a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the Ranunculaceae family, commonly known as baneberry, characterized by often toxic berry-like fruits. In Greek mythology, Actaea is the name of one of the Nereids (sea nymphs), and in astronomy, it designates a natural satellite of the trans-Neptunian object 120347 Salacia.
• Acteon — A current graphic and phonetic variant in the Romanian language for 'Actaeon'; a hero hunter in Greek mythology transformed into a stag by the goddess Artemis and torn apart by his own hounds. In an extended scientific sense, the name defines a genus of marine gastropod snails (Acteonidae) with delicate spiral shells, as well as a main-belt asteroid discovered in the 20th century, both borrowing the structural connotation of the mythological name.
• Acteonella — Romanian term (derived from the fossil genus Acteonella) for a type of prehistoric marine gastropod snails, characteristic of the Cretaceous period. Its structural shell is thick, oval or fusiform in shape, smooth, and provided with distinct columellar plications. Acteonella fossils are frequently used in geology as index fossils for dating sedimentary strata and reconstructing ancient equatorial marine environments.
• Adenovirus — A genus of medium-sized, non-enveloped viruses with an icosahedral structure and a double-stranded DNA genome, responsible for a wide range of infectious diseases in humans and animals. This structural pathogen frequently infects the linings of the respiratory, digestive, and ocular tracts, causing rhinitis, pharyngitis, gastroenteritis, or epidemic conjunctivitis.
• Adeona — A goddess in archaic Roman mythology protecting children and travelers, structurally invoked to ensure the safe return home of those who departed. In modern astronomy, the term designates 145 Adeona, a large and dark asteroid from the main asteroid belt, discovered in the 19th century by Christian Peters and considered the parent body of a distinct collisional family of asteroids.
• Adrastus — A legendary proper name from Greek mythology, borne most notably by the King of Argos who organized and led the famous military expedition of the 'Seven against Thebes' to restore his son-in-law to the throne. In astronomy, the term designates a major impact crater located on the surface of Saturn's moon Tethys, named in honor of a Homeric character.
• Aegaeon — An alternative name attributed in Greek mythology to the titan Briareus, a hundred-handed Hecatoncheire giant with fifty heads, celebrated for protecting Zeus's throne against the Olympian rebellion. In modern times, the term designates a small natural satellite of the planet Saturn (Saturn LIII), discovered in 2008 by the Cassini spacecraft and located within the planet's G ring.
• Aeolus — Aeolus; the mythological god, ruler, or keeper of the winds in Greek and Roman mythology, who lived on the floating island of Aeolia and kept storms locked inside a deep cave, releasing them only at the command of the major gods. In a modern context, the term designates various space projects (such as ESA's ADM-Aeolus meteorological satellite), atmospheric phenomena, or structural wind engineering concepts.
• Aerocoly — A digestive disorder manifested by the excessive accumulation of air or gas inside the colon, causing abdominal distension, flatulence, and colicky pain. This clinical phenomenon is often the result of aerophagia, increased bacterial fermentation, or intestinal motility disorders.
• Aerophagia — A functional digestive disorder characterized by the involuntary and excessive swallowing of air during eating, speaking, or during periods of high anxiety, leading to gas buildup in the stomach, a feeling of fullness, frequent eructations, abdominal meteorism, and gastric discomfort.
• Aerogastria — A digestive disorder consisting of the presence or excessive accumulation of air or gases inside the stomach cavity, causing gastric distension, a feeling of abdominal fullness, discomfort, and frequent eructations. This condition is most often a direct consequence of aerophagia or abnormal chemical fermentation processes.
• Aerolite — A meteorite composed mostly of silicate mineral substances (stony), sometimes exhibiting small metallic inclusions of iron and nickel. This category of celestial bodies that have fallen onto the Earth's surface is structurally divided into chondrites and achondrites, offering fundamental scientific data regarding the early composition of the solar system.
• Aerolitic — Relating to aerolites, concerning aerolites (stony meteorites); originating from an aerolite or exhibiting compositional and structural characteristics specific to silicate rocks of extraterrestrial nature that have fallen to Earth.
• Aerosiderolite — A rare type of mixed meteorite, macro-structurally composed of a relatively equal mixture of silicate mass (olivine-type minerals or pyroxenes) and a metallic iron-nickel alloy. In a historical or contextual sense, the term designates celestial bodies that enter Earth's atmosphere, whose fragments collected on the ground provide precious geochemical data about early planetary core compositions.