Space and Solar Definitions - K

K-band - A range of microwave radio frequencies in the neighborhood of 12 to 40 GHz.

K Corona - Of the white-light corona (that is, the corona seen by the eye at a total solar eclipse), that portion which is caused by sunlight scattered by electrons in the hot outer atmosphere of the sun.

K Index - A 3-hourly quasi-logarithmic local index of geomagnetic activity relative to an assumed quiet-day curve for the recording site. Range is from 0 to 9. The k index measures the deviation of the most disturbed horizontal component.

Kelvin - A unit of absolute temperature.

kg - Kilogram, the metric standard unit of mass, based on the mass of a metal cylinder kept in France. See g (gram).

kHz - kilohertz.

Kilometer - 103 meter.

Klystron - A microwave traveling wave tube power amplifier used in transmitters.

km - Kilometers.

Kp Index - A 3-hourly planetary geomagnetic index of activity generated in gottingen, Germany, based on the k index from 12 or 13 stations distributed around the world.

KSC - Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Kuiper belt - A disk-shaped region about 30 to 100 AU from the sun considered to be the source of the short-period comets.

KWF - Keyword file of events listing DSN station activity. Also known as DKF, DSN keyword file.