#astronom

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• To loosen — To make a compact material, soil, or culinary mixture less dense, porous, and more aerated; to break the cohesion of tightly packed particles to allow air and water penetration. In agriculture, it refers to loosening the soil; in gastronomy, it describes aerating doughs or creams.
• Aphelion — The point in the elliptical orbit of a planet, comet, or celestial body at which it is furthest from the Sun. At this point, according to Kepler's laws, the orbital velocity reaches its absolute minimum, being diametrically opposite the perihelion.
• Smoke — The first-person singular form of the verb 'a afuma' (to smoke); the act of exposing an object, food item, or surface to the smoke resulting from the incomplete combustion of wood or other vegetal substances. This process is used for food preservation and flavoring, sterilization, technical treatment, or optical darkening of glass.
• Smoke — To expose an object, a space, or a food item to the direct action of smoke in order to preserve, flavor, disinfect, or blacken it; to overcook a dish, giving it an unpleasant burnt taste due to a lack of water or excessive heat. In an apicultural sense, it describes the act of calming bees using a special device that emits smoke.
• Smoked — Having undergone the process of smoking for preservation or to obtain a specific flavor; an object or surface blackened or covered with a thin layer of soot due to exposure to smoke. In a culinary sense, it also describes a dish burnt during cooking, and in colloquial speech, it can indicate a person under the influence of alcohol.
• Smokehouse — A household annex, specially designed room, or technical construction of variable dimensions in which smoke is produced in a controlled manner for preserving and flavoring food products (meat, fish, cheeses). It functions through the smoldering combustion of sawdust or hardwood, ensuring a homogeneous distribution of the smoke's antiseptic agents.