Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

272 results found

Mayer, Johann Tobias

(Encyclopedia)Mayer, Johann Tobias yōˈhän tōbēˈäs mīˈər [key], 1723–62, German mathematician and astronomer. In 1751 he became professor of economics and mathematics at the Univ. of Göttingen, and in 1...

Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm August

(Encyclopedia)Argelander, Friedrich Wilhelm August frēˈdrĭkh vĭlˈhĕlm ouˈgo͝ost ärˈgəländər [key], 1799–1875, German astronomer. He became director of the observatory at the Univ. of Bonn in 1837 and...

San Gabriel Mountains

(Encyclopedia)San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. Mt. San Antonio, also known as Mt. Baldy (10,080 ft/3,072 m), is the highest peak of the ran...

Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio

(Encyclopedia)Schiaparelli, Giovanni Virginio skyäpärĕlˈlē [key], 1835–1910, Italian astronomer. He was director (1862–1900) of the Brera Observatory, Milan. He is especially noted for having detected (18...

Keeling, Charles David

(Encyclopedia)Keeling, Charles David, 1928–2005, U.S. geochemist, b. Scranton, Pa., Ph.D. Northwestern Univ., 1954. As a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology (1953–56), he developed a s...

Stamford, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Stamford, city (1990 pop. 108,056), Fairfield co., SW Conn., on Long Island Sound; settled 1641, inc. 1893 as a city within the town of Stamford (the two were consolidated in 1949). A variety of light...

Whipple, Fred Lawrence

(Encyclopedia)Whipple, Fred Lawrence, 1906–2004, American astronomer, b. Red Oak, Iowa. After graduating from the Univ. of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 1931), he accepted a position at Harvard, where he remained f...

Mauna Kea Observatories

(Encyclopedia)Mauna Kea Observatories mouˈnə kāˈə [key], astronomical observatory complex located on Mauna Kea peak, the “white mountain” on the island of Hawaii, at an altitude of more than 13,600 ft (4,1...

Davis Mountains

(Encyclopedia)Davis Mountains, W Tex., SE of El Paso. Old Baldy, 8,382 ft (2,555 m), is the highest peak. Forested slopes, springs, and deep canyons attract tourists. On the summit of Mt. Locke, 6,791 ft (2,070 m) ...

Pune

(Encyclopedia)Pune or Poona both: po͞oˈnə [key], city (1991 pop. 2,493,987), Maharashtra state, W central India. It is a district administrative and commercial center with automotive vehicle works, appliance fac...