Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In astronomy, a phase curve describes the brightness of a reflecting body as a function of its phase angle (the arc subtended by the observer and the Sun as measured at the body). The brightness usually refers the object's absolute magnitude , which, in turn, is its apparent magnitude at a distance of one astronomical unit from the Earth and Sun.
Because Solar System bodies are illuminated by the Sun, their brightness varies as a function of illumination conditions, described by the phase angle. This relationship is referred to as the phase curve. The absolute magnitude is the brightness at phase angle zero, an arrangement known as opposition, from a distance of one AU.
This glossary of astronomy is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to astronomy and cosmology, their sub-disciplines, and related fields. Astronomy is concerned with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth. The field of astronomy features an extensive vocabulary and a ...
Phase curve (astronomy) is the brightness of a reflecting body as a function of its phase angle. Phase response curve is the relationship between the timing and the effect of a treatment designed to affect circadian rhythms. Phase diagram is a type of chart used to show conditions at which thermodynamically distinct phases can occur at equilibrium.
The brightness of an object is a function of the phase angle, which is generally smooth, except for the so-called opposition spike near 0°, which does not affect gas giants or bodies with pronounced atmospheres, and when the object becomes fainter as the angle approaches 180°. This relationship is referred to as the phase curve.
Orbital Parameters of a Cosmic Object: . α - RA, right ascension, if the Greek letter does not appear, á letter will appear. δ - Dec, declination, if the Greek letter does not appear, ä letter will appear.
The last image we have of Patrick Cagey is of his first moments as a free man. He has just walked out of a 30-day drug treatment center in Georgetown, Kentucky, dressed in gym clothes and carrying a Nike duffel bag.
The symbols for aspects first appear in Byzantine codices. [3] Of the symbols for the five Ptolemaic aspects, only the three displayed here — for conjunction, opposition, and quadrature — are used in astronomy. [111] Symbols for a comet (☄) and a star have been used in published