51吃瓜 of the Day
areology
noun
the observation and study of the planet Mars.
Why the Museum of Science chose areology
Dictionary.com is collaborating with the Museum of Science, Boston, to bring science鈥攁nd words鈥攖o life for millions around the world through 鈥淪cience 51吃瓜 of the Week,鈥� a weekly series that will describe scientific terms, their meanings, and how they are used. The partnership stems from a common theme in mission between us to inspire a love of words and science in everyone.
Right now, a rover on Mars is collecting rock samples that will help us learn more about the planet and may help us determine if life ever existed on Mars. Watch the video below to hear more fun facts about areology from science communicator, Alex Dainis, Ph.D.
More about areology
Areology is based on the Ancient Greek word for Ares, the god of war, plus -logy, which indicates the science or study of a topic. Some linguists have traditionally derived Ares from the Greek word for 鈥渄amage, disaster, doom,鈥� but others consider the name to come from a lost language once spoken in what is now Greece. Take care not to confuse the god Ares with the constellation Aries, which is unrelated and comes from the Latin word for 鈥渞am.鈥� Areology was first recorded in English in the early 1880s.
EXAMPLE OF AREOLOGY USED IN A SENTENCE
From Galileo鈥檚 observations to NASA鈥檚 missions, interest in areology has fueled scientific discoveries for centuries!
FUN FACT ABOUT AREOLOGY
While geology refers to the study of the planet Earth, areology is the Martian version. Learn more fun facts .
evection
noun
a periodic irregularity in the moon's motion, caused by the attraction of the sun.
More about evection
Evection, 鈥渁 periodic irregularity in the moon’s motion,鈥� comes from Latin 脓惫别肠迟颈艒 (stem 脓惫别肠迟颈艒n-) 鈥渁 going upwards, flight.鈥� 膾惫别肠迟颈艒 is based on the verb 脓惫别丑别谤别 鈥渢o carry forth, move forth,鈥� from 脓 (or ex) 鈥渙ut of, from, beyond鈥� and vehere 鈥渢o carry, drag.鈥� Vehere has two common stems in English: veh-, as found in vehement and vehicle, and vect-, as in convection and vector. Distant relatives of vehere in English include way, wagon, weigh, wiggle, and even Norway (literally 鈥渘orth way鈥�). Evection was first recorded in English in the 1650s.
how is evection used?
The point at which a moon and its planet come closest together, known as periapsis, is not constant …. When the period of this precession matches the time it takes the planet itself to orbit the sun, the sun鈥檚 gravity will distort the moon鈥檚 orbit. This is evection.
Jeremiah Horrocks[鈥檚] 鈥� life was short, but he accomplished a great deal, and rightly ascribed the lunar inequality called evection to variations in the value of the eccentricity and in the direction of the line of apses, at the same time correctly assigning the disturbing force of the Sun as the cause.
canicular
adjective
pertaining to the rising of the Dog Star (also called Sirius) or to the star itself.
More about canicular
Canicular, 鈥減ertaining to Sirius, the Dog Star,鈥� is equivalent to Latin 颁补苍墨肠耻濒补 鈥淪irius鈥� plus -腻谤颈蝉, an adjective-forming suffix. 颁补苍墨肠耻濒补 literally means 鈥渓ittle dog鈥� and is based on canis 鈥渄og,鈥� plus the feminine diminutive suffix -cula (compare English -cle or -cule, as in molecule and particle). Canis survives today as French chien, Italian cane, and Portuguese 肠茫辞, but Spanish can has declined in favor of perro, of unclear origin. A direct descendant of 颁补苍墨肠耻濒补 is French canicule 鈥渉eat wave,鈥� which previously referred to the dog days of summer. This period of the year takes its name in both English and Romance languages from the appearance of Sirius in the northern sky, and the co-occurrence with hot weather gives dog days as well as French canicule their heated sense. Canicular was first recorded in English in the late 14th century.
how is canicular used?
Sirius was then above the horizon during daylight hours, so it was believed the star鈥檚 heat was added to that of the Sun to give a run of scorching temperatures. The interval from early July to mid-August of Dante鈥檚 鈥済reat scourge of canicular days鈥� is still referred to as the dog days of summer in modern times.
鈥嬧�婲ow beat the pulse and burned the flame of that canicular time when Sirius, rising with the sun, adds his glow to the lesser planet for earth’s delight.