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Unofficial Pronunciation Guide

Note: When I know of more than one pronunciation, I tried to generally put the more common one (among astronomers) first, though this is not always possible and may not be accurate. (Schwarzschild, for example, seems to be pronounced somewhere between the two options I give.)

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Word Pronunciation     What it is Aldeberan al-DEB-uh-rawn The brightest star in the constellation Taurus. Click here for some definitions for star names Andromeda an-DRAHM-i-duh A northern constellation, representing a chained princess: daughter of Cepheus and Cassiopeia, and future bride of Perseus Aphelion ap-HEEL-ee-un -or- AP-heel-ee-un The point in an object's orbit furthest from the sun Auriga or-RI-guh A northern constellation, representing a charioteer Azimuth AZ-ih-muth A measurement coordinate, beginning at the North point on the observor's horizon and travelling around Eastward. Measured in degrees, from 0 to 360. Azimuthal az-ih-MYUITH-al The adjective form of Azimuth Betelgeuse BEETLE-juice -or- BEH-tul-guyss The brightest star in the constellation Orion Click here for some definitions for star names Bootes BOH-uh-tees (not "booties") A northern constellation, representing a herdsman Callisto kuh-LIS-toe One of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter, with the most densely cratered surface in the Solar System Cassini kuh-SEE-nee The name of the spacecraft sent to explore Saturn (along with the Huygens probe; named after Giovanni Cassini, who discovered the Cassini division. Cassiopeia cass-ee-oh-PAY-uh -or- cass-ee-OH-pee-uh A northern constellation, representing a queen on her throne: mother of Andromeda and wife of Cepheus Cepheus SEE-fee-us A northern constellation, representing a king: father of Andromeda and wife of Cassiopeia Cephei SEF-ee-i The genitive (or possessive) form of Cepheus Also, part of the name of the star I'm researching Chandrasekhar chan-druh-SAY-kar The Chandrasekhar limit is about 1.4 solar masses. Stars with masses below this limit (such as our sun), end their lives as white dwarfs. (It was named for the physicist who first calculated this limit.) Charon KAIR-un -or- SHAWR-un Pluto's largest moon Chicxulub SHEEK-suh-loob The name of the crater formed from the meteor that allegedly killed off the dinosaurs Fun note: I got extra credit in an astronomy class for spelling this right on a test. :) Deimos DAY-mohs The smaller of Mars' two moons Ecliptic ee-CLIP-tik An imaginary line in the sky defined by the path of the sun throughout the year. It represents the plane of our Solar System, and so the planets are also found near this line. Enceladus en-SELL-uh-duhs An icy moon of Saturn; the most reflective object in the Solar System Europa yur-O-puh The smallest of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter; an icy moon Ganymede GAN-i-meed One of the four Galilean satellites of Jupiter; the largest moon in the Solar System Huygens HI-ginz -or- HOY-ginz The name of the probe on the Cassini mission, sent to study Titan; named after Christaan Huygens, who discovered Titan. Hyakutake hya-koo-tah-kay The name of a comet that was visible to the naked eye in 1996 Io I-oh The innermost of the four Galilean satellites, often nicknamed "the Sulfur Pizza" due to its appearance and composition. Click here for a true-color image. Kuiper KI-pur That's "ki" as in "kite" The Kuiper Belt is a region in the Solar System beyond Neptune's orbit (from about 30AU to 50AU) Maria MAR-ee-uh The "seas," or dark areas, on the moon Messier MESS-ee-ay -or- mess-ee-AY The last name of the man who created the catalogue of Messier objects. Click here for more info. Nebula NEB-yu-luh A conglomoration of gas and dust in space. Nebulae NEB-yu-lee The plural of nebula. Some nebulae are formed from dying stars; others are "stellar nurseries" -- where new stars are being born Oort ORT The Oort cloud is a cloud of comets 50,000 to 100,000 AU from the sun Ophiuchus oaf-YUIK-us An equatorial constellation. It actually crosses the ecliptic, the line which defines the zodiac constellations. Yet I've never met anyone who claims their sign is Ophiuchus, have you? ;) Ophiuchi oaf-YUIK-ee -or- oaf-YUIK-i The genitive (or possessive) form of Ophiuchus. Perihelion pair-ih-HEEL-yun The point in an object's orbit closest to the sun Perseus PUR-see-us A northern constellation, representing the hero who slew Medusa; future husband of Andromeda Phobos FOH-bohs The larger of Mars' two moons Pleiades PLEE-uh-deez The Pleiades are a star cluster in the constellation Taurus. They are also know as "The Seven Sisters." Schwarzschild SHWORTS-sheeld -or- SHWORS-sheeld The Schwarzschild radius is a radius determined for a massive object by setting the escape velocity equal to the speed of light. For black holes, this radius is larger than the object itself, creating an event horizon from which nothing, not even light, can escape. (It was named for Karl Schwarzschild, who first calculated it.) Uranus YOOR-ah-nuhs *See note below The 7th planet in the Solar System Zenith ZEE-nith The uppermost point in an observor's frame of reference, or in other words, the point directly above you.  If you there are any you'd like added, feel free to email me. [Back to top] Astronomy Home since August 2005

*Note: A sure way to demonstrate your lack of astronomy knowledge is to pronounce Uranus with the emphasis on the middle syllable. I have never heard an astronomer pronounce it that way, though nearly everyone else seems to think that that is correct.