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Arctic Circle

(Encyclopedia)Arctic Circle, imaginary circle on the surface of the earth at 661⁄2°N latitude, i.e., 231⁄2° south of the North Pole. It marks the northernmost point at which the sun can be seen at the winter ...

Arctic Council

(Encyclopedia)Arctic Council, intergovernmental forum established to promote cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the arctic nations, with the involvement of indigenous peoples and others inhabiting the...

circle

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Circle circle, closed plane curve consisting of all points at a given distance from some fixed point, called the center. A circle is a conic section cut by a plane perpendicular to the axis of...

Arctic, the

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Arctic, the northernmost area of the earth, centered on the North Pole. The arctic regions are not coextensive with the area enclosed by the Arctic Circle (lat. 66°30′N) but are usually defi...

Arctic Ocean

(Encyclopedia)Arctic Ocean, the smallest ocean, c.5,400,000 sq mi (13,986,000 sq km), located entirely within the Arctic Circle and occupying the region around the North Pole. The Arctic basin was almost wholly u...

Arctic Archipelago

(Encyclopedia)Arctic Archipelago ärkˈtĭk, ärˈtĭk [key], group of more than 50 large islands, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, N Canada, in the Arctic Ocean. The southernmost members of the group include Baf...

diurnal circle

(Encyclopedia)diurnal circle dīûrˈnəl [key], apparent path followed by a star due to the earth's rotation on its axis. The stars appear to move on the celestial sphere in concentric circular paths centered at t...

hour circle

(Encyclopedia)hour circle, in astronomy, a secondary axis in the equatorial coordinate system. The hour circle of a celestial body is the great circle on the celestial sphere that passes through both the body and t...

Antarctic Circle

(Encyclopedia)Antarctic Circle, imaginary circle on the surface of the earth at 661⁄2°S lat., i.e., 231⁄2° north of the South Pole. It marks the southernmost point at which the sun can be seen at the winter s...

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