Astronomical symbols are abstract pictorial symbols used to represent astronomical objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in European astronomy.The earliest forms of these symbols appear in Greek papyrus texts of late antiquity.The Byzantine codices in which many Greek papyrus texts were preserved continued and extended the inventory of …

The astronomical unit (symbol: au, or AU or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and approximately equal to 150 million kilometres (93 million miles) or 8.3 light-minutes. The actual distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits the Sun, from a maximum to a minimum and back again once each year.

A planet symbol (or planetary symbol) is a graphical symbol used in astrology and astronomy to represent a classical planet (including the Sun and the Moon) or one of the modern planets. The symbols were also used in alchemy to represent the metals associated with the planets, and in calendars for their associated days. The use of these symbols derives from Classical Greco …

Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by …

A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol ′, is a unit of angular measurement equal to 1 / 60 of one degree. Since one degree is 1 / 360 of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is 1 / 21 600 of a turn. The nautical mile (nmi) was originally defined as the arc length of a minute of latitude on a spherical Earth, so the actual Earth ...

Historically, astrological and astronomical symbols overlapped. Frequently used symbols include signs of the zodiac and classical planets.These originate from medieval Byzantine codices. Their current form is a product of the European Renaissance.Other symbols for astrological aspects are used in various astrological traditions.

Crux (/ k r ʌ k s /) is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross.It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name Crux is Latin for cross. Even though it is the smallest of all 88 modern constellations, Crux is among the most easily distinguished as its four main stars each ...

A metric prefix is a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of measure to indicate a multiple or submultiple of the unit. All metric prefixes used today are decadic.Each prefix has a unique symbol that is prepended to any unit symbol. The prefix kilo-, for example, may be added to gram to indicate multiplication by one thousand: one kilogram is equal to one thousand grams.

An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electronic image sensors.. There are three primary types of optical telescope: Refracting telescopes, which use lenses and less commonly also prisms ()

The acronyms listed below were placed into one or more of these categories: Astrophysics terminology – physics-related acronyms Catalog – collections of tabulated scientific data; Communications network – any network that functions primarily to communicate with spacecraft rather than performing astronomy Data – astrophysical data not associated with any single …