Orion Glossary
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speed of lightThe speed at which light travels. It is equal to approximately 300 million metres per second (3 × 108 m s−1). Often denoted by the letter c as in Einstein's famous equation, E = mc2. | |
star clustersStar clusters are physically compact groupings of tens to millions of stars which formed simultaneously in the same region of space. | |
supergiantA star, several times more massive than the Sun, after it has exhausted its hydrogen nuclear fuel supply. | |
supermassive black holeA term used to describe black holes, implying that they have very much more mass than would be expected from a black hole that originated as the remnant of a single star. | |
supernovaA dramatic stellar explosion, produced when a star several times the mass of the Sun has exhausted its nuclear fuel. | |
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terrestrial planetA planet similar in size to the Earth, composed of rocky materials (cf. giant planet). | |
thermal pulsesThermal pulses are brief bursts of enhanced energy production in solar mass stars due to the instabilities inherent in helium shell burning. | |
triple-alpha processA sequence of nuclear fusion reactions that occurs in the cores of high-mass stars. In this sequence, three helium nuclei are converted into a carbon nucleus. | |
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waveA periodic (regularly repeating) disturbance that transports energy from one place to another, characterised by its wavelength, frequency (or period) and amplitude. | |