(Encyclopedia) Cyrano de Bergerac, SavinienCyrano de Bergerac, SaviniensävēnyăNˈ sēränōˈ də bĕrzhəräkˈ [key], 1619–55, French novelist. Satirizing the customs and beliefs of his time, he wrote two…
(Encyclopedia) node, in astronomy, point at which the orbit of a body crosses a reference plane. One reference plane that is often used is the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun (ecliptic).…
(Encyclopedia) synodic periodsynodic periodsĭnŏdˈĭk [key], in astronomy, length of time during which a body in the solar system makes one orbit of the sun relative to the earth, i.e., returns to the…
(Encyclopedia) Nordhoff, CharlesNordhoff, Charlesnôrdˈhŏf [key], 1830–1901, American journalist and author, b. Westphalia. In 1835 he emigrated with his family to Cincinnati. His service (1844–47) in…
(Encyclopedia) Jack the Ripper, name given to an unidentified late-19th-century murderer in London, England; also known as the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron. From Aug. to Nov., 1888, he was…
(Encyclopedia) Eisenstaedt, Alfred, 1898–1995, American photographer, b. Dirschau, Germany (now Tczew, Poland). Widely considered the father of photojournalism, he began creating photo essays in…
(Encyclopedia) halo, in meteorology, short-lived circles or arcs, and less commonly spikes and crosses, of colored or whitish light surrounding the moon or sun or in clouds as seen from above. A halo…
American revolutionary patriotBorn: c. 1723Birthplace: Boston Of mixed African and American Indian ancestry, Attucks was the slave of William Brown of Framingham, Mass. Attucks escaped around 1750…
(Encyclopedia) conjunction, in astronomy, alignment of two celestial bodies as seen from the earth. Conjunction of the moon and the planets is often determined by reference to the sun. When a body is…
(Encyclopedia) albedoalbedoălbēˈdō [key], reflectivity of the surface of a planet, moon, asteroid, or other celestial body that does not shine by its own light. Albedo is measured as the fraction of…
