Aero-Terms!

Aero-Terms are designed to be a daily reminder of the terms, names, acronyms and explanations of the unique language that populates the aviation world. Aerospace, sport aviation, fixed wing, helo, you name it... it's all fair game.

Aero-Terms should serve as a quick but intriguing reminder of the terms you may use every day, or an introduction to an aspects of the Aero-World you may not yet be familiar with. ANN also encourages readers to go beyond the FMI link, and further research any intriguing terms.

Suggestions for future Aero-Terms are ALWAYS welcome, as are additions or discussion of the explanations given for each Aero-Term.

Zone Of Avoidance

A band around the sky in which very few extragalactic objects can be seen at visible wavelengths because of the heavy absorption of light by dust in the plane of the Milky Way. The zone of avoidance is by no means regular, varying width from about 38° in the direction of the center of our Galaxy (in Sagittarius) to about 12°. Additionally, there are a number of galactic windows in the zone that are relatively free of obscuring material and therefore offer a clear view of the outside universe.

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_of_avoidance