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astrolabe
(Encyclopedia)astrolabe ăsˈtrəlāb [key], instrument probably used originally for measuring the altitudes of heavenly bodies and for determining their positions and movements. Although its origin is ancient and ...Hillary, Sir Edmund Percival
(Encyclopedia)Hillary, Sir Edmund Percival, 1919–2008, New Zealand mountain climber and explorer. He went on many mountain-climbing expeditions before 1953, when he and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal were the first peop...cyclone
(Encyclopedia)cyclone, atmospheric pressure distribution in which there is a low central pressure relative to the surrounding pressure. The resulting pressure gradient, combined with the Coriolis effect, causes air...hip
(Encyclopedia)hip, in human anatomy, the joint separating the thigh bone from the pelvis, and the surrounding flesh. The adult hipbone consolidates three bones separate in youth: the ilium, ischium, and pubis. The ...Coriolis effect
(Encyclopedia)Coriolis effect kôrˌē-ōˈlĭs [key] [for G.-G. de Coriolis, a French mathematician], tendency for any moving body on or above the earth's surface, e.g., an ocean current or an artillery round, to ...Evangelical and Reformed Church
(Encyclopedia)Evangelical and Reformed Church, Protestant denomination formed by the merger (1934) of the Reformed Church in the United States and the Evangelical Synod of North America. Both of these bodies had or...twilight
(Encyclopedia)twilight, period between sunset and total darkness or between total darkness and sunrise. Total darkness does not occur immediately when the sun sinks below the horizon because light from the sun that...tropics
(Encyclopedia)tropics, also called tropical zone or torrid zone, all the land and water of the earth situated between the Tropic of Cancer at lat. 231⁄2°N and the Tropic of Capricorn at lat. 231⁄2°S. Every po...climate
(Encyclopedia)climate, average condition of the atmosphere near the earth's surface over a long period of time, taking into account temperature, precipitation (see rain), humidity, wind, barometric pressure, and ot...midnight sun
(Encyclopedia)midnight sun, phenomenon in which the sun remains visible in the sky continuously for 24 hr or longer, occurring only in the polar regions. The midnight sun is due to the fact that the plane of the ea...Browse by Subject
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