Research Study on Standardization of Astronomical Terminology

Research Project

Project/Area Number	01102007
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Institution	University of Tokyo
Principal Investigator	ISHIDA Keiichi Univ. of Tokyo, Faculty of Sciences, Prof., 理学部, 教授 (80012839)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	KANDA Tai National Astronomical Observatory, Research Ass., 助手 (80012871) FUJIMOTO Masakatsu National Astronomical Observatory, Ass. Prof., 助教授 (90107475) SAKURAI Takashi National Astronomical Observatory, Ass. Prof., 助教授 (40114491) IYE Masanori National Astronomical Observatory, Ass. Prof., 助教授 (30111446)
Project Period (FY)	1988 – 1990
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1990)
Keywords	List of Astronomical terminology / Astronomy / terminology / Standardization
Research Abstract	The present co-operative research is to seek a possibility to identify a set of astronomical terminology to be used as a common property of scientists in all branches of astronomy. The first step of the study was to gather English written astronomy terminology of frequent use in major review papers and abstracts of original papers appeared in recent twenty years. Number of words were accumulated in a file of personal computer up to about twelve thousand words. In the second step, the words were classified into about twenty different categories and divided into different files. The files were sent to many specialists of different branches of astronomy to be inspected to (1) propose corresponding Japanese written word and (2) propose acceptation or rejection from our final list of terminology. Each files were inspected by three to five astronomers. The proposals were registered in the files and the files were merged together and arranged in an alphabetical order to make a preliminary draft of a listing. To call for any suggestion to the preliminary draft, an announcement was made on Tenmon Geppou (the Astronomical Herald) and a meeting (the fifth meeting of the present co-operative research) open to all members of the society was held at Kyoto on May 7 with the fourth draft. The final (sixth) meeting of all investigators of the research was held on October 16 in Sendai with the fifth draft. The final draft listing was arranged by the head investigator, was reviewed and approvedfor 5200 terminology at the second twelve hour meeting of coordinate investigators held on February 14.