term
stringlengths 1
63
⌀ | category
stringclasses 15
values | label
int64 0
1
| definition
stringlengths 5
3.18k
⌀ |
|---|---|---|---|
tropics | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The region of the Earth surrounding the Equator, generally delimited in latitude between the Tropic of Cancer (23°26' N) in the Northern Hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26' S) in the Southern Hemisphere. |
tropopause | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The boundary in the Earth's atmosphere between the troposphere and the stratosphere, on average situated approximately 17 km (11 mi) above equatorial regions and 9 km (5.6 mi) above the polar regions. |
troposphere | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere, within which nearly all weather phenomena occur. The troposphere contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere's total mass and 99% of its water vapor and aerosols. The average height of the troposphere above the Earth's surface varies between 6 and 18 km (3.7 and 11.2 mi) depending on latitude. |
trough | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An elongated region of relatively low atmospheric pressure, often associated with a front. Troughs may exist at the surface or aloft or both; the lifting of moist air by convergent winds usually causes clouds and precipitation to follow immediately behind a trough. Under certain conditions, troughs may alternate with ridges in a high-amplitude pattern. |
turbulence | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity, caused by excessive kinetic energy in parts of the fluid flow. |
twistex | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An acronym for Tactical Weather-Instrumented Sampling in/near Tornadoes EXperiment. |
typhoon | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The local name for a tropical cyclone that occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. |
unstable air mass | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Any air mass with high convective instability, characterized by dramatic vertical air currents. |
urban heat island | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An urban or metropolitan area within which air temperatures are significantly warmer than in surrounding rural or uninhabited areas as a result of human activities, especially the artificial modification of land surfaces and the generation of waste heat by energy usage. Urban heat islands can greatly influence precipitation, air quality, and the likelihood of certain weather phenomena in the vicinity of large cities, though not all cities have a distinct urban heat island. |
uhi | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An urban or metropolitan area within which air temperatures are significantly warmer than in surrounding rural or uninhabited areas as a result of human activities, especially the artificial modification of land surfaces and the generation of waste heat by energy usage. Urban heat islands can greatly influence precipitation, air quality, and the likelihood of certain weather phenomena in the vicinity of large cities, though not all cities have a distinct urban heat island. |
vertical draft | Space and Astronomy | 1 | See updraft. |
vertically integrated liquid | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An estimate of the total mass of precipitation contained in a cloud, obtained by measuring the intensity of radar echoes returned from the atmosphere. |
vil | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An estimate of the total mass of precipitation contained in a cloud, obtained by measuring the intensity of radar echoes returned from the atmosphere. |
virtual temperature | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The temperature of a moist air parcel at which a theoretical dry air parcel would have a total pressure and density equal to those of the moist parcel. |
visual flight rules | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going, as opposed to instrument flight rules, under which operation of the aircraft primarily occurs through referencing the onboard instruments rather than through visual reference to the ground and environs. |
vfr | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going, as opposed to instrument flight rules, under which operation of the aircraft primarily occurs through referencing the onboard instruments rather than through visual reference to the ground and environs. |
vortex | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A region within a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices are a major component of turbulence and may be observed in many types of meteorological phenomena, including the winds surrounding a tropical cyclone, tornado, or dust devil. |
wall cloud | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A large, localized, persistent, and often abrupt lowering of cloud that develops beneath the surrounding base of a cumulonimbus cloud and from which tornadoes sometimes form. |
warm front | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A type of front located at the leading edge of a warmer air mass as it overtakes a cooler air mass that is moving more slowly in the same direction. Warm fronts lie within broader troughs of low pressure than cold fronts, which sometimes follow them, and the temperature difference between the air masses they separate is often greater. Stratiform clouds, fog, and steady rain with occasional thunderstorms often precede the boundary as it moves. In surface weather analysis, warm fronts are symbolized by a red line with semicircles pointing in the direction of travel. |
water vapor | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Water in its gaseous state. Water vapor is ubiquitous in the atmosphere, being continuously generated by evaporation and removed by condensation, and plays a major role in numerous meteorological processes. |
weather | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The state of the atmosphere at a given time and location. Weather is driven by a diverse set of naturally occurring phenomena, especially air pressure, temperature, and moisture differences between one place and another, most of which occur in the troposphere. |
weather balloon | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A high-altitude balloon used to carry scientific instruments into the atmosphere, which then measure, record, and transmit information about meteorological variables such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed by means of a radiosonde or other measurement device, often one which is expendable. Weather balloons are only feasible in the lower atmosphere and typically do not exceed 40 kilometres (25 mi) in altitude; higher parts of the atmosphere are generally studied with sounding rockets or satellites. |
weather bomb | Space and Astronomy | 1 | See explosive cyclogenesis. |
weather forecasting | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere at a given time and location. Weather forecasts are made by collecting quantitative data about the current state of the atmosphere at a given place and then using meteorology to project how the atmosphere will change. Forecasting is important to a wide variety of human activities, including business, agriculture, transportation, recreation and general health and safety, because it can be used to protect life and property. |
weather front | Space and Astronomy | 1 | See front. |
weather map | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A map which displays various meteorological features across a particular area for a particular point or range of time. Weather maps often use symbols such as station models to conveniently present complicated meteorological data. They are used for both research and weather forecasting purposes. |
weather surveillance radar | Space and Astronomy | 1 | 1. In the United States, WSR-1, WSR-57, WSR-74, and WSR-88D. |
wsr | Space and Astronomy | 1 | 1. In the United States, WSR-1, WSR-57, WSR-74, and WSR-88D. |
weather spotting | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The act of observing weather, often on the ground, for the purpose of reporting to a larger group or organization, such as the U.S. National Weather Service. |
weather station | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Any facility, either on land or at sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions in order to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and/or climate. |
weather vane | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An instrument (often an architectural ornament) used to indicate the direction of the wind. |
weatherwise | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A photographically adorned general interest weather magazine that frequently publishes articles on tornadoes and other severe weather. |
whirlwind | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Any vertically oriented rotating vortex of air that develops as a result of turbulent air currents created by heating and flow gradients. Examples include major whirlwinds such as tornadoes, waterspouts, and landspouts and minor whirlwinds such as gustnadoes and dust devils. |
willy-willy | Space and Astronomy | 1 | See dust devil. |
wind | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The bulk movement of air within the Earth's atmosphere. Wind occurs on a wide range of scales, from very strong thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes to milder local breezes lasting a few hours to global atmospheric circulations caused by the differential heating of the Equator and the poles and the Earth's rotation. Winds are often referred to by their strength and direction; the many types of wind are classified according to their spatial scale, their speed, the types of forces that cause them, the regions in which they occur, and their effects. |
wind chill | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A meteorological index that estimates the effect of wind speed on the apparent temperature perceived by humans, particularly the decrease in human body temperature attributable to the movement of cold air. There is no universally agreed-upon formula for measuring or calculating wind chill, though it is commonly reported as a temperature. It is usually defined only for air temperatures at or below 10 °C (50 °F) and wind speeds above 4.8 km/h (3.0 mph). |
wind direction | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The direction from which a wind originates; e.g. a northerly wind blows from the north to the south. Wind direction is usually reported using cardinal directions or in azimuth degrees measured clockwise from due north. Instruments such as windsocks, weather vanes, and anemometers are commonly used to indicate wind direction. |
wind gust | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A brief increase in the speed of the wind, usually lasting less than 20 seconds. Gusts are more transient than squalls. They are usually only reported by weather stations when the maximum or peak wind speed exceeds the average wind speed by 10–15 knots (12–17 mph). |
wind shear | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Any difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal. |
wind speed | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The measured speed of the air comprising a wind. Changes in wind speed are often caused by air parcels being exposed to pressure and temperature gradients in the atmosphere. Wind speed is measured with an anemometer, but may also be less precisely classified using the Beaufort scale. |
windstorm | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Any storm that produces or is characterized by very strong winds. |
winter storm | Space and Astronomy | 1 | 1. Any storm which occurs during the local winter. |
zastrugi | Space and Astronomy | 1 | See sastrugi. |
black hole | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A region of space where gravity is so intense that nothing, not even light, can escape from it. |
nebula | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A large, diffuse cloud of gas and dust in space, often the birthplace of stars. |
supernova | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An explosion of a star at the end of its life cycle, often resulting in the formation of a neutron star or black hole. |
exoplanet | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A planet orbiting a star other than our Sun; also called “extrasolar planet.” |
light year | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The distance light travels in one year, approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers. |
red giant | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A type of star that has expanded and cooled after exhausting the hydrogen fuel in its core. |
dark matter | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A form of matter that does not emit light or energy but exerts gravitational effects on visible matter. |
pulsar | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation. |
event horizon | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The boundary surrounding a black hole beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape. |
cosmic microwave background | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The faint glow of radiation left over from the Big Bang, providing a snapshot of the early universe. |
solar flare | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A sudden, intense burst of energy and radiation from the Sun's surface, often associated with sunspots. |
hubble constant | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A measure of the rate at which the universe is expanding. |
quasar | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A very bright object in space that is similar to a star and very far away from Earth. A quasar gives off powerful radio waves. |
meteorite | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A rock that has fallen to Earth from outer space. |
singularity | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A point in space-time, such as the center of a black hole, where gravitational forces are infinite and the laws of physics break down. |
gravitational lens | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The bending of light by gravity from a massive object, such as a galaxy or black hole. |
kuiper belt | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A donut-shaped ring of millions of icy, rocky objects beyond the orbit of Neptune. |
main sequence star | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A star that is in the stable phase of its life, burning hydrogen in its core. |
white dwarf | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A small, dense star that remains after a star has exhausted its nuclear fuel and shed its outer layers. |
protoplanetary disk | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A rotating disk of dense gas and dust surrounding a young star, where planets form. |
solar wind | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A stream of charged particles (mostly electrons and protons) emitted from the Sun's atmosphere. |
neutron star | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A dense remnant of a massive star that has exploded in a supernova, composed mainly of neutrons. |
dark energy | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A mysterious force that is driving the accelerated expansion of the universe. |
hypernova | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A highly energetic supernova explosion that occurs when a very massive star collapses. |
roche limit | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The minimum distance at which a celestial body can approach a larger body without being torn apart by tidal forces. |
neutrino | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An electrically neutral, extremely low-mass particle that interacts weakly with matter. |
accretion disk | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A disk of gas, dust, and other material that forms around a massive object, like a black hole or star. |
oort cloud | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A vast, spherical shell of icy bodies that surrounds the solar system at a great distance. |
heliosphere | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The bubble-like region of space dominated by the solar wind, extending beyond the orbit of Pluto. |
brown dwarf | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A substellar object too massive to be a planet but not massive enough to sustain hydrogen fusion. |
redshift | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The displacement of light toward longer wavelengths, observed in galaxies that are moving away from Earth. |
magnetar | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field. |
gravitational waves | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Ripples in spacetime caused by the acceleration of massive objects, predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. |
gamma-ray bursts | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Intense bursts of gamma rays believed to be caused by supernova explosions or the collision of neutron stars. |
hubble deep field | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A long-exposure image of a small region of space, revealing thousands of distant galaxies. |
planck time | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The time it takes for light to travel one Planck length, a fundamental unit of time in the Planck scale. |
lyman-alpha forest | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A series of absorption lines seen in the spectra of distant quasars, caused by hydrogen gas clouds along the line of sight. |
cosmology | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The scientific study of the origin, structure, and evolution of the universe. |
star | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A huge ball of very hot, glowing gas that gives off both heat and light. |
hubble's law | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The observation that galaxies are moving away from us at speeds proportional to their distance. |
hubble space telescope | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A 2.4 m reflecting telescope in orbit approximately 590 km above the surface of the Earth. |
lunar eclipse | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An event that occurs when the Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow on the Moon. |
solar eclipse | Space and Astronomy | 1 | An event that occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking the Sun's light. |
astrobiology | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. |
main sequence | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A phase in the lifecycle of a star where it fuses hydrogen into helium in its core. |
asteroid belt | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A region in space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter that contains numerous rocky bodies, called asteroids. |
meteor | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A space rock that becomes so hot it glows when it passes into Earth’satmosphere. |
cosmic microwave background radiation | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The faint glow left over from the Big Bang, providing evidence for the early universe’s conditions. |
supermassive black hole | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A black hole with a mass millions to billions of times that of the Sun, found at the centers of most large galaxies. |
big bang theory | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The leading explanation for the origin of the universe, proposing that it began from a singularity and expanded over time. |
cmb | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The faint glow of radiation left over from the Big Bang, providing a snapshot of the early universe. |
supernova remnant | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The remnants of a star that has exploded in a supernova, often composed of gas, dust, and cosmic rays. |
gravity wave | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A rippling fluctuation in spacetime caused by the acceleration of massive objects, predicted by general relativity. |
star cluster | Space and Astronomy | 1 | A group of stars that are gravitationally bound and formed from the same molecular cloud. |
habitable zone | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The range of orbital distance from a star at which temperatures would allow liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet with sufficient atmosphere. This range of distance changes depending on the size and temperature of the star. Earth is in the habitable zone of the Sun, one of the reasons our planet has liquid water like oceans and lakes. |
goldilocks zone | Space and Astronomy | 1 | The habitable zone around a star where the temperature allows water to exist on a planet. The temperature is not too hot and not too cold – it is just right – in reference to the Goldilocks tale. |
terrestrial | Space and Astronomy | 1 | Planets composed mostly of rock (silicates) and metals, like Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury. Sometimes also called “rocky” or “telluric.” |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.