Term Index (V)
Astrophysical terms and names of things beginning with the letter V.
V1
V3
V5
VA
VB
VC
VD
VE
VF
VH
VI
VL
VM
VO
VP
VR
VS
VT
VU
VV
VY
- V: photometric filter for visible light
- V (main sequence star): star burning hydrogen into helium in its center
- V: see Stokes parameters
- V: see Vela
- titanium: metal, Ti, atomic number 22
- UVJ diagram: diagram to identify star formation in distant galaxies
- v: see u-v plane
- V band (V): photometric filter for visible light
- V filter: see V
- V Zw: see Catalog of Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies
- Víctor M. Blanco Telescope: 4 meter reflector telescope in Chile
- V-band: see Hubble Ultra-Deep Field
- V1032 Centauri (PDS 70): T-Tauri star with protoplanetary disk and protoplanet
- V1216 Sagittarii (Ross 154): nearby red dwarf
- V1216 Sgr (Ross 154): nearby red dwarf
- V1400 Centauri (J1407): star eclipsed by a body with a ring system
- V1687 Cyg (WR 140): Wolf-Rayet star that produces much dust
- V339 Del (V339 Delphini): 2013 nova showing lithium synthesis
- V339 Delphini: 2013 nova showing lithium synthesis
- V509 Cassiopeiae
- Ve (escape velocity): minimal velocity that allows something to overcome a body's gravity
- Vmax: see volume weighting
- VA: see rare designator prefixes
- vacuum: see false vacuum
- vacuum decay: see Big Crunch
- vacuum energy: see ground state
- dark energy: energy theorized to accelerate the expansion of the universe
- Vainu Bappu Observatory: observatory in southern India
- Vainu Bappu Telescope: see Vainu Bappu Observatory
- valley of beta stability: set of isotopes not prone to beta decay
- valley of stability (valley of beta stability): set of isotopes not prone to beta decay
- VAMPIRES: see Subaru Telescope
- Van Allen belts: regions of energetic charged particles surrounding Earth
- aurora: light produced by atmosphere and solar wind
- radiation belt: regions of energetic charged particles surrounding a planet
- Van Allen radiation belts (Van Allen belts): regions of energetic charged particles surrounding Earth
- Van Biesbroeck: see rare designator prefixes
- van Bueren: see rare designator prefixes
- van Cittert-Zernike theorem: see visibility
- u-v plane: plane for displaying Fourier transforms of signal from the sky
- van den Bergh: see Van Den Bergh Reflection Nebula Catalog
- van den Bergh galaxy classification: galaxy classification variant including luminosity
- van den Bergh luminosity classification: see van den Bergh galaxy classification
- Van Den Bergh Reflection Nebula Catalog: catalog of reflection nebulae found in POSS plates
- Van den Bergh-Hagen: see rare designator prefixes
- van der Waals force
- vanadium
- vanadium oxide
- vapor pressure
- Var: see luminous blue variable
- Var: see rare designator prefixes
- variable (variable star): star that varies in magnitude
- variable star: star that varies in magnitude
- variable star designation: Bayer system variant for variable stars
- Variable Star Observers League in Japan: amateur variable star group
- variable stars
- variable type
- Variables and Slow Transients: see Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder
- Varuna
- Kuiper Belt: further part of solar system beyond Neptune
- VAST: see Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder
- Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope
- VBO (Vainu Bappu Observatory): observatory in southern India
- VBRC: see rare designator prefixes
- VBSDC: see New Horizons
- VBT: see Vainu Bappu Observatory
- VCC (Virgo Cluster Catalog): 1980s catalog of 2000 galaxies
- VCF: see Local Group
- VCV: see rare designator prefixes
- VD: see rare designator prefixes
- vdB (Van Den Bergh Reflection Nebula Catalog): catalog of reflection nebulae found in POSS plates
- vdB 130
- VdB-H: see rare designator prefixes
- vdB-Ha: see rare designator prefixes
- vdBH: see rare designator prefixes
- VdS (Vereinigung der Sternfreunde): German amateur astronomy association
- Ve: see rare designator prefixes
- vector analysis
- analytical methods: using solved equations rather than a lot of arithmetic
- vortex: fluid region where the flow is spinning
- vector calculus: see mathematical field
- vector field: see mathematical field
- VEEGA (Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist): interplanetary method of Galileo spacecraft
- VEGA: see CHARA
- Vega: brightest star in constellation Lyra
- Vega magnitude system (Vega system): magnitude calibration such that Vega has zero magnitude
- Vega system: magnitude calibration such that Vega has zero magnitude
- VEGAS: see Green Bank Telescope
- vegetation red edge: wavelength cut-off point in the reflectivity of typical plants
- vegetation signature: see biosignature
- Vela: 1960s military satellites to detect nuclear tests
- Vela Supercluster
- Vela supernova remnant: nearby supernova remnant
- VELC: see Aditya-L1
- Velikhov-Chandrasekhar Instability (magnetorotational instability): instability in the fluid of a disk from MHD effects
- VeLLO (very low luminosity object): term sometimes used for protostars with luminosity less than 0.1 solar
- Veloce: see Anglo-Australian Telescope
- velocimetry: see radial velocity
- velocity dispersion: statistical dispersion of velocities of a group of objects
- velocity field
- vortensity: ratio of vorticity to surface mass-density
- vortex: fluid region where the flow is spinning
- velocity kick: substantial acceleration from a supernova
- velocity orientation-space: space with one dimension of RV and two dimensions of orientation
- velocity-metallicity relation: higher stellar velocity correlates with lower metallicity
- VenSAR: see EnVision
- VenSpec-H: see EnVision
- VenSpec-M: see EnVision
- VenSpec-U: see EnVision
- Venus: second inner-most planet in the solar system
- Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy (VERITAS): planned NASA Venus orbiter
- Venus Express: Venus probe launched by ESA in 2005
- Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar: 1980s plan for Venus probe to map the surface
- Venus Radar Mapper (Magellan): 1980s/1990s Venus probe
- Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist: interplanetary method of Galileo spacecraft
- VER: see VERITAS
- VERA: VLBI project to map the Milky Way
- VeRa: see Venus Express
- Veray C. Rubin Observatory (Rubin Observatory): 8-meter survey reflector telescope under construction in Chile
- Vereinigung der Sternfreunde: German amateur astronomy association
- verification by multiplicity: see Kepler Telescope
- VERITAS: ground gamma ray telescope array in Arizona
- VERITAS: planned NASA Venus orbiter
- vernal equinox: see equinox
- vernal point: see equinox
- vertical epicyclic frequency: see epicyclic frequency
- vertical gradient: see gradient
- vertical metallicity gradient: see metallicity gradient
- vertical optical depth: see optical depth
- vertical oscillation frequency: see spiral galaxy
- vertical scale height: see scale height
- vertical temperature profile (atmospheric temperature profile): the atmosphere's temperature by altitude
- Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS): ground gamma ray telescope array in Arizona
- very high energy
- very high frequency
- Very Large Array: radio telescope in New Mexico
- Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS): ongoing all-sky radio survey
- Very Large Telescope (European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope): four 8.2-meter optical telescopes in Chile that can act together
- Very Large Telescope Interferometer: see European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope
- very late thermal pulse: see thermal pulse
- post-AGB star: stellar-evolution phase between AGB and white dwarf
- very light dark matter: see sub-GeV dark matter
- Very Long Baseline Array: radio interferometer stretching 8000 km
- very low frequency: electromagnetic radiation, frequency 3-30 kHz
- very low luminosity object: term sometimes used for protostars with luminosity less than 0.1 solar
- very low mass: abbreviation
- very low mass star: see low mass star
- Very Small Array: radio interferometer in Canary Islands
- very small grains: dust grains of just a few molecules
- very-high energy cosmic rays: see cosmic rays
- very-high-energy (VHE): 100 GeV or more
- very-high-energy gamma ray
- very-high-energy gamma rays: energetic gamma rays with 100 GeV to 100 TeV photon energy
- very-long-baseline interferometry: interferometry based upon storing timing data at each telescope
- VES: see rare designator prefixes
- Vesta: see asteroid
- asteroid family: set of asteroids based on similar orbits
- Dawn: explorer spacecraft sent to asteroids Vesta and Ceres
- protoplanet: simplest, least-developed object classified as a planet
- Vetenskapsrådet: Swedish research council
- Vetesnik: see rare designator prefixes
- VFTS (VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey): VLT spectroscopic survey of massive stars
- VHE: 100 GeV or more
- VHE cosmic rays: see cosmic rays
- VHE gamma ray
- VHECR: see cosmic rays
- VHEGR (very-high-energy gamma rays): energetic gamma rays with 100 GeV to 100 TeV photon energy
- VHF
- VHM: see Ulysses
- VHS: see VISTA
- VI (subdwarf): star less bright than the main sequence given its spectral class
- VI Zw: see Catalog of Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies
- Victor M. Blanco Telescope
- Dark Energy Survey: survey aimed at mapping the universe's expansion
- DECaLS: survey imaging part of SDSS footprint with DECam
- VIDEO: see VISTA
- VII Zw: see Catalog of Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies
- VIII Zw: see Catalog of Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies
- VIK: see VISTA
- VIKING: see VISTA
- Viking
- Mars: well-explored planet in the solar system
- Villanova White Dwarf Catalog: ongoing catalog of white dwarfs
- VIMOS: see European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope
- VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey: spectrographic redshift survey of 80,000 galaxies
- VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey: spectroscopic survey of 100,000 high-redshift galaxies
- VIMS: see Cassini
- VINCI: see European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope
- violent migration: see planetary migration
- violet noise: see red noise
- Viper: see ACBAR
- VIPERS (VIMOS Public Extragalactic Redshift Survey): spectrographic redshift survey of 80,000 galaxies
- VIR: see Dawn
- VIRCAM: see VISTA
- UltraVISTA: near infrared survey using VISTA telescope
- VIRGO: see Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
- Virgo: ground-based gravitational-wave detector in Italy
- Virgo A (M87): supergiant elliptical galaxy in local universe
- Virgo Cluster: nearby large galaxy cluster
- Virgo Cluster Catalog: 1980s catalog of 2000 galaxies
- Virgo Detector (Virgo): ground-based gravitational-wave detector in Italy
- Virgo I
- Virgo SC (Virgo Supercluster): supercluster including the Local Group
- Virgo Stellar Stream: stellar stream wrapping around the Milky Way
- Virgo Stream (Virgo Stellar Stream): stellar stream wrapping around the Milky Way
- Virgo Supercluster: supercluster including the Local Group
- Virgo X-1 (M87): supergiant elliptical galaxy in local universe
- Virgocentric flow: see Local Group
- Virgocentric peculiar velocity: see Local Group
- virial length: see virial theorem
- virial mass: see virial theorem
- virial parameter: calculated quantity showing whether a cloud is gravitationally bound
- virial radius: see virial theorem
- virial scale: see virial theorem
- virial temperature: see virial theorem
- virial theorem: average kinetic energy equals half the average negative potential energy
- VIRMOS: see European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope
- VIRMOS-VLT Deep Survey (VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey): spectroscopic survey of 100,000 high-redshift galaxies
- VIRTIS: see Rosetta
- VIRTIS: see Venus Express
- virtual black hole: see black hole
- virtual image: see real image
- Virtual Meteor Observatory: online database of meteors
- virtual observatory: online database of astronomical data
- virtual particle: see quantum fluctuations
- VIRUS: see Hobby-Eberly Telescope
- VIS: see Big Bear Solar Observatory
- VIS: see Euclid
- viscosity: see viscous dissipation
- viscous dissipation: fluid KE converted to heat due to viscosity
- viscous forces
- Reynolds number: measure reflecting a fluid system's propensity to turbulence
- visibility: mathematical representation of interferometer's view
- u-v plane: plane for displaying Fourier transforms of signal from the sky
- Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA): 4.1 meter telescope in Paranal Observatory in Chile
- visible jet: see jet
- visible light: electromagnetic radiation that our eyes can sense
- visible universe: see observable universe
- visible window: see atmospheric window
- VisieR: online astronomical catalog contents/data
- VISIR: see European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope
- VISTA: 4.1 meter telescope in Paranal Observatory in Chile
- VISTA Deep Extragalactic Observations Survey: see VISTA
- VISTA Hemispheric Survey: see VISTA
- VISTA Kilodegree Infrared Galaxy Survey: see VISTA
- VISTA Magellanic Survey: see VISTA
- VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea Survey: see VISTA
- visual
- V: photometric filter for visible light
- visual binary: binary star system in which both stars can be seen
- visual double (double star): two stars close together in the sky
- visual grouping: see asterism
- visual magnitude: see magnitude
- visualization
- VLA (Very Large Array): radio telescope in New Mexico
- VLA jet: see jet
- Vlasov equation: see Vlasov-Poisson equation
- Vlasov simulation: see Vlasov-Poisson equation
- Vlasov solver: see Vlasov-Poisson equation
- Vlasov-Maxwell equation: see Vlasov-Poisson equation
- Vlasov-Poisson equation: equation describing plasma ignoring the magnetic field
- Vlasov-Poisson system: see Vlasov-Poisson equation
- VLASS: ongoing all-sky radio survey
- VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array): radio interferometer stretching 8000 km
- VLBA MK
- VLBI (very-long-baseline interferometry): interferometry based upon storing timing data at each telescope
- VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA): VLBI project to map the Milky Way
- VLBI jet: see jet
- VLBI Space Observatory Program: see HALCA
- VLF (very low frequency): electromagnetic radiation, frequency 3-30 kHz
- VLM (very low mass): abbreviation
- VLOT
- VLT (European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope): four 8.2-meter optical telescopes in Chile that can act together
- VLT Survey Telescope: survey telescope located at the VLT site
- VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey: VLT spectroscopic survey of massive stars
- VLT-SPHERE (SPHERE): VLT instrument for imaging exoplanets
- VLTI: see European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope
- VLTP: see thermal pulse
- post-AGB star: stellar-evolution phase between AGB and white dwarf
- VMC: see Mars Express
- VMC: see VISTA
- VMC: see Venus Express
- VMO (Virtual Meteor Observatory): online database of meteors
- VMR: see rare designator prefixes
- VO (virtual observatory): online database of astronomical data
- Vogt-Russell theorem: proposition that a star's structure depends on its mass and makeup
- void: empty spaces between large scale structures
- void filament: see void galaxy
- void fraction (porosity): fraction of the volume of solid material that is open or void
- void galaxy: galaxy within a void
- voids
- Voigt function
- Voigt profile: mathematical shape that models spectral lines
- VOIR (Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar): 1980s plan for Venus probe to map the surface
- volatile (volatile material): material with low condensation temperature
- volatile compound: see volatile material
- volatile element: see volatile material
- volatile material: material with low condensation temperature
- volt
- voltage
- volume phase holographic grating: see grating
- volume pixel: see data cube
- volume pixel: see spaxel
- volume weighting: method of accommodating the Malmquist bias
- volumetric analysis (titration): analyzing a chemical solution by color change
- von Zeipel: see rare designator prefixes
- Vorontsov-Velyaminov planetary nebula type: see planetary nebula
- vortensity: ratio of vorticity to surface mass-density
- vortex: fluid region where the flow is spinning
- vorticity: see vortex
- vortensity: ratio of vorticity to surface mass-density
- VOU: see double star designation
- voxel: see data cube
- voxel: see spaxel
- Voyager: space probes to observe planets and the edge of the solar system
- Ganymede: well-known Jupiter moon
- heliopause: boundary between solar wind and the interstellar medium
- Io: well-known Jupiter moon
- Saturn: second largest planet in the solar system
- Voyager 1: see Voyager
- heliosheath: outer layer of the heliosphere beyond its termination shock
- Voyager 2: see Voyager
- Neptune: outer-most solar system planet
- Uranus: second outer-most solar system planet
- VPH grating: see grating
- VPHAS+
- VR theorem (Vogt-Russell theorem): proposition that a star's structure depends on its mass and makeup
- VRAD: see SELENE
- VRE (vegetation red edge): wavelength cut-off point in the reflectivity of typical plants
- VRM (Magellan): 1980s/1990s Venus probe
- VRMF: see rare designator prefixes
- VRO (Rubin Observatory): 8-meter survey reflector telescope under construction in Chile
- VRO: see rare designator prefixes
- VSA (Very Small Array): radio interferometer in Canary Islands
- VSG (very small grains): dust grains of just a few molecules
- VSOLJ (Variable Star Observers League in Japan): amateur variable star group
- VSOP (HALCA): Japanese space radio telescope operating 1997-2005
- VSOP: see HALCA
- VSOP 2: see HALCA
- VSOP B: see HALCA
- VSS: see rare designator prefixes
- VSSG: see rare designator prefixes
- VST (VLT Survey Telescope): survey telescope located at the VLT site
- VST ATLAS
- VST Photometric Hα Survey of the Southern Galactic Plane
- VSX (International Variable Star Index): variable star catalog by AAVSO
- VT: see VLASS
- Vulcanoid: see asteroid
- vulcanoid: theoretical asteroid orbiting within Mercury's orbit
- VV (Catalogue of Interacting Galaxies): begun in the 1950s
- VV: see rare designator prefixes
- VV Cephei
- VV Cephei system: see binary star
- VV2000c: see rare designator prefixes
- VVDS (VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey): spectroscopic survey of 100,000 high-redshift galaxies
- VVO: see rare designator prefixes
- VVV: see VISTA
- VVV BD: see VISTA
- VVV CL: see VISTA
- VVV-WIT: see VISTA
- Vy: see rare designator prefixes
- VY Canis Majoris: extremely large red hypergiant
- VY CMa (VY Canis Majoris): extremely large red hypergiant
- Vys: see rare designator prefixes
Index