StarWords

Download or read book StarWords written by DANIEL. TERLEVICH KUNTH (ELENA.) and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2024 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zusammenfassung: Unbeknownst to many, our modern language contains countless words that were inspired by human observations of the cosmos. We now use words like "zenith", "Monday", "disaster", "dog days", "starfish", "lunatic", flu, and so many others, without a second thought for their celestial roots. Famous French astrophysicist Daniel Kunth invites you on a linguistic and scientific journey through space and time to explore these forgotten origins. You will be astonished to rediscover cosmic language hidden in plain sight through this wonderful collection of historical and cultural stories, famous idioms and delightful puns, along with the real science behind each one. Elena Terlevich is a well known professional astronomer working at INAOE in Mexico, an honorary Professor at La Plata University in Argentina and a regular visitor at the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge (UK). Requiring no prior knowledge in astronomy or linguistics, this book's universal contents invite the reader to ponder how our observations of the night sky have shaped our modern tongue and customs