This compilation probably looks like one of the craziest things a human
being could spend his or her time on. Yet nobody would wonder at someone
taking a short walk every day - after twenty five years that person
would have covered a surprisingly long distance. This is exactly the
story behind this list, which appeared first as a few pages within the
directory StarGuides (or whatever name it had at that time) and as a
distinct sister publication since 1990. The idea behind this dictionary
is to offer astronomers and related space scientists practical
assistance in decoding the numerous abbreviations, acronyms,
contractions and symbols which they might encounter in all aspects of
the vast range of their professional activities, including traveling.
Perhaps it is a bit paradoxical, but if scientists quickly grasp the
meaning of an acronym solely in their own specific discipline, they will
probably encounter more difficulties when dealing with adjacent fields.
It is for this purpose that this dictionary might be most often used.
Scientists might also refer to this compilation in order to avoid
identifying a project by an acronym which already has too many meanings
or confused definitions.