Subj : Re: from Russian again To : Roy Witt From : alexander koryagin Date : Wed Jun 13 2018 09:45:26 From: alexander koryagin Hi, Roy Witt! I read your message from 11.06.2013 10:22 ak>> an aquanaut, in water; an astronaut - a person traveling between ak>> stars (that's why it is, for a while, an incorrect term). An ak>> alconaut - is a person who drinks often. ;=) RW> That's the same way that naut is used in the English language. Also RW> in English, astro- means 'outer space' not specifically 'stars'... RW> the study of the stars is called astrology, while the study of RW> astrometry is of a celestial body, such as Mars or the Sun. Well, it is probably because that in ancient times people thought that the planets were stars, too. "Planet" means a wandering star. That was the only difference between planets and stars, and, therefore, astronomy learned both the stars and planets. But it's another matter now how to call a man who travels in space. Now we know the difference. BTW, in Russian books of scientific fantasy we also have an equivalent of "astronaut", but we call in such a way only those people who travel between stars really. RW>>> Whoever heard of the term, cosmostrolgy, being used to describe RW>>> the practice of astrology? ak>> Well, IMHO cosmos is a more general term. After leaving the Earth, ak>> and we are in cosmos. RW> By leaving the Earth's atmosphere, one is in space... as an RW> astronaut would be. You do, but the word "space" is not a self-sufficing term. There is space in a kennel, too. When we speak of the space where the stars and planets move, we, if we want to be perfectly correct, speak of the cosmic space. That's why "cosmonaut" is more correct. ;-) RW> "Aerodynamically, space begins about 120 miles [190 kilometers] RW> from earth. Physiologically and psychologically, however, it starts RW> only 12 miles [19 kilometers] up, where survival requires elaborate RW> protection against an actual space environment." RW> It is a very interesting adventure... Yes, however, the more interesting is the fact that humans think of the outer space as about a empty lifeless space. But actually, 96 percent of things that exist in the Universe are located in the place which people call vacuum. Bye, Roy! Alexander Koryagin fido7.english-tutor 2013 --- ifmail v.2.15dev5.4 * Origin: NPO RUSnet InterNetNews site (2:5020/400) .