Astrobabble From asterisms to Thorne-Żytkow objects, we turn gibberish into English

Yarkovsky effect

Cos·mo·drome
from the Greek drómos, or race track A Russian launch site, like the $13.9 billion Vostochny Cosmodrome being prepped for Soyuz spacecraft in that country’s far east. Vladimir Putin wants a new spaceport following disputes with Kazakhstan, the current launch host

Hex·a·hy·drite
A type of magnesium sulfate — like the soothing salts you drop in a hot bath — with six water molecules that forms flaky, fibrous layers and is now thought to explain the strange bright spots in Occator Crater on the asteroid Ceres.

Blue Strag·gler
The result of stellar cannibalism or a collision that turns two old red stars into one massive, hot blue star that looks like it’s lagged in its evolution. These brilliant stars confuse astronomers by finding the fountain of youth in otherwise ancient globular clusters.

Yar·kov·sky ef·fect
Caused when photons from the Sun hit a spinning rock (typically meteoroids and small asteroids) and are re-emitted as heat in a random direction, ever so slightly changing the space rock’s path