Discover published sets by community

Dark Matter is a form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. It does not emit or interact with electromagnetic radiation like light, making it invisible and detectable only through its gravitational effects.

A Black Hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even particles and electromagnetic radiation such as light can escape from it. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass can deform spacetime to form a black hole.

Exoplanets, or extrasolar planets, are planets that orbit a star other than our Sun. They can range in size from larger than Jupiter to smaller than Earth and can be detected by various methods like transits and Doppler shifts.

The Cosmological Principle is the assumption that on large scales, the universe is homogeneous and isotropic. This principle suggests that the laws of physics are the same everywhere and that there is no 'preferred' direction or place in the universe.

The Chandrasekhar Limit is the maximum mass (approximately 1.4 times the mass of the Sun) that a stable white dwarf star can have. Beyond this limit, the star is unable to support itself against gravitational collapse and may explode as a Type Ia supernova or collapse into a neutron star.

Gravitational Lensing occurs when the gravitational field of a massive body, like a galaxy or cluster of galaxies, warps space-time and deflects light from objects behind it, distorting their apparent shape and position.

Redshift refers to the phenomenon where light from an object in space such as a galaxy is shifted towards the red end of the spectrum. This is interpreted as the object moving away from us, and is used as evidence for the expansion of the Universe.

The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is the thermal radiation left over from the time of recombination in Big Bang cosmology, and is crucial evidence for the Big Bang theory. It presents a snapshot of the oldest light in our universe, imprinted on the sky when the universe was just 380,000 years old.

The Solar Wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun. This wind varies in temperature and speed over time and interacts with planetary magnetospheres and contributes to auroras on Earth.

Rogue Planets are planetary-mass objects that do not orbit a star and instead travel through space independently. They may have been ejected from their original star systems or formed through cloud-collapse mechanisms.

A Protostar is a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud. The protostellar phase is the earliest one in the process of stellar evolution.

White Dwarfs are stellar remnants that are the final evolutionary state of stars whose mass is below the Chandrasekhar limit. These stars have exhausted their nuclear fuel and collapsed to a very small size, becoming very dense.

Hubble's Law states that the recession velocity of galaxies away from us is proportional to their distance from us. This is given by $v = H_0 \times d$, where $v$ is the recession velocity, $H_0$ is the Hubble constant, and $d$ is the distance.

Pulsars are highly magnetized, rotating neutron stars that emit beams of electromagnetic radiation out of their magnetic poles. When these beams point towards Earth, they can be detected as pulses of radiation, hence the name.

The Interstellar Medium (ISM) is the matter that fills the space between stars in a galaxy. It is composed of gas (largely hydrogen and helium), dust, and cosmic rays, and plays a key role in star formation and the evolution of galaxies.

An Accretion Disk is a structure formed by diffused material in orbital motion around a massive central body, such as a black hole, neutron star, or star. Friction and collision within the disk material causes it to heat up and emit radiation.

The Doppler Effect refers to the change in frequency or wavelength of a wave in relation to an observer moving relative to its source. In astronomy, it's used to determine the movement of stars and galaxies towards or away from us.

A Galactic Halo is a spherical region of a galaxy which extends beyond the main, visible component. In spiral galaxies, it contains old stars, globular clusters, and dark matter.

The Habitable Zone, sometimes referred to as the 'Goldilocks Zone', is the range of orbits around a star where a planetary surface can support liquid water given sufficient atmospheric pressure. It is considered a key factor when looking for planets that could potentially harbor life.

Dark Energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe. It is the leading explanation for the observation that the expansion of the universe is accelerating.

A Supernova is a powerful and luminous stellar explosion that occurs at the end of a star's life cycle. They can briefly outshine entire galaxies and radiate more energy than our sun will in its entire lifetime.

Quasars are highly luminous objects powered by black holes at the center of galaxies. They are among the brightest and most distant objects known in the universe and can outshine entire galaxies despite their relatively small size.

Neutron stars are the collapsed cores of large stars which underwent a supernova explosion. They are incredibly dense and consist mostly of neutrons. They can spin rapidly and emit beams of electromagnetic radiation observed as pulsars.

Helioseismology is the study of the propagation of wave oscillations, particularly acoustic pressure waves, in the Sun. It is analogous to seismology on Earth and helps researchers infer the interior structure of the Sun.