WHAT ARE THE GALILEAN MOONS? FIND OUT MOREThe biggest planet, Jupiter, is 11 times wider than Earth. It is made mainly of hydrogen and helium. Its rapid spin makes the clouds in its atmosphere form…
WHAT IS A METEOR SHOWER? METEORITESFIND OUT MOREA meteor, or shooting star, is a streak of light in the sky caused by a piece of dust or rock from space burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. Space…
(Encyclopedia) Johnson, Herschel Vespasian, 1812–80, U.S. political leader, b. Burke co., Ga. Admitted to the bar in 1834, he filled (1848–49) an unexpired Senate term before serving as circuit court…
(Encyclopedia) Schiavo case, the legal battles over the guardianship and rights of Theresa Maria Schindler Schiavo (1963–2005). Terri Schiavo was incapacitated and hospitalized in 1990, after she…
(Encyclopedia) Great Sandy Desert, Australia's second-largest desert, c.110,000 sq mi (284,900 sq km), Western Australia and Northern Territory. Lying between the Tanami Desert (NE) and the Gibson…
(Encyclopedia) Manicouagan ReservoirManicouagan Reservoirmănĭkwägˈən [key], annular artifical lake, 750 sq mi (1,942 sq km), SE Que., Canada, in a heavily forested area of the Canadian Shield. It has…
(Encyclopedia) Paektu or Baekdu, Mount, volcanic peak, 9,003 ft (2,744 m) high, in the Changbai Mts. on the border between North Korea and China. The highest mountain in Korea, it rises from a basalt…
(Encyclopedia) Davis, George Breckenridge, 1847–1914, American army officer and jurist, b. Ware, Mass., grad. West Point, 1871. His early military service was divided between duty on the Western…
(Encyclopedia) Brennan, William Joseph, Jr., 1906–97, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1956–90), b. Newark, N.J. After receiving his law degree from Harvard, he practiced law in Newark.…
(Encyclopedia) Stair, James Dalrymple, 1st ViscountStair, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscountdălrĭmˈpəl, dălˈrĭmpəl [key], 1619–95, Scottish jurist. A student and then a regent of the Univ. of Glasgow, he…