Appendix I — Table of Acronyms, Terms and Constants

TYCHOS = the name I chose for my cosmic model which, of course, is heavily based on Tycho Brahe’s geoheliocentric model. The final “S” stands for my first name, Simon — since I humbly consider to have completed Brahe’s unjustly sidelined work.

Tychosium : the interactive 3D simulator of our Solar System developed by IT-programmer Patrik Holmqvist and Simon Shack.

The PVP orbit = The Polaris-Vega-Polaris orbit of the Earth (113 230 656km in Ø — and 355 724 597 km in circumference).

The PVP constant: the percentage-ratio of Earth’s orbital speed in relation to the Sun’s orbital speed : 0.00149326 %.
(The Sun travels at 107226km/h — whereas Earth moves, in the opposed direction, at 1.601169 km/h.)

TGY = TYCHOS Great Year = 25344 solar years = the time period for the Earth to complete one PVP orbit

ACP = Annual Constant of Precession = 51.1363 arcseconds. This is the TYCHOS-computed, true angular amount by which the stars are drifting (Eastwards in relation to the Sun) each year, as a consequence of Earth’s 1.6 km/h motion around its PVP orbit.

TMSP = our Moon’s True Mean Synodic Period = 29.22 days. This is the TYCHOS-computed, true average synodic period of our Moon. The synodic periods of all our Solar System's planets are 'round' multiples of 29.22 days.

MVC = The "Mean Variation Coefficient" of 0.8 (km/h) as described in Chapter 14 represents the expected oscillation of the observed positions of all our surrounding celestial bodies caused by the almost rectilinear 1.6-km/h-motion of the Earth in relation to the same.

moon: in lower-case, a satellite of a planet; otherwise capitalized “Moon” being the satellite of Earth.

AU = Astronomical Unit = Average Earth-Sun distance = 149 597 870.7 km (or roughly 149.6 Mkm)

RA = Right Ascension : the celestial equivalent (used in astronomy) of terrestrial longitude.

DECL = Declination : the celestial equivalent (used in astronomy) of terrestrial latitude.

360° = 1 296 000 arcseconds = 1440 minutes (our celestial sphere) = 24 hours = 100% of 1 circle or revolution. The sky can be divided into a number of degrees, arcseconds, minutes or hours of RA. It can sometimes get confusing, but that’s astronomy for you!

Sidereal period: a celestial body completes a “sidereal” period each time it aligns again with a given star.

Synodic period: a celestial body completes a “synodic” period each time it aligns again with the Sun.

Perigee: closest transit point of a body with respect to Earth. Apogee: furthest transit point of a body with respect to Earth.

Perihelion: closest transit point of a body with respect to the Sun.
Aphelion: furthest transit point of a body with respect to the Sun.

Inferior conjunction: when a body (e.g. Venus) is aligned with the Sun while transiting closest to Earth. Superior conjunction: when a body (e.g. Venus) is aligned with the Sun while transiting furthest from Earth.

Prograde: a celestial body is said to be “in prograde mode” when it moves in the same direction as the Sun. Retrograde: a celestial body is said to be “in retrograde mode” when it moves in the opposed direction of the Sun.

Precession: “precession” is just a fancy word for “drift”: in astronomy, a celestial body is said to be “precessing” whenever it is observed to drift over time in relation to other celestial bodies. In the TYCHOS, the stars slowly “precess” over time (in relation to our ‘timekeeper’, the Sun) as a consequence of Earth’s motion. This stellar drift (popularly known as the “precession of the equinoxes”) is known today as the "General Precession" since the entire star firmament is observed to constantly drift (Eastwards) in relation to the Earth's equinoxes.

Binary system: a system wherein two celestial bodies orbit around each other around a common barycentre. The TYCHOS posits that 100% of all star systems are binary; in light of modern and ongoing new discoveries, this hypothesis is gaining ground by the day. So far, more than 90% (and counting) of our visible star systems have revealed their binary nature. More often than not, binary systems also host additional bodies (moons, planets, asteroids) within or outside of the system, known as “circumbinary” bodies.

Circumbinary: a circumbinary body circles around any given binary system, as described above.

Equinox: See Wikipedia’s “Equinox” entry (opens in a new tab)

Apsidal precession: See Wikipedia's “Apsidal precession” entry (opens in a new tab)

Saros: the Moon's cycle of 18 years+11days+8hours that can be used to predict eclipses of the Sun and Moon

Exeligmos: the Moon's cycle of 54.1 years or 19756 days, equivalent to three Saros cycles

Metonic cycle: the Moon's approximated 19-year cycle named after Meton of Athens

Callippic cycle: the Moon's 76-year cycle (or 4 Metonic cycles) named after Greek astronomer Callippus

Evection: the variation of the Moon's ecliptic longitude (± 1.274° with a period of about 31.8 days)