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Southern Alps

(Encyclopedia)Southern Alps, mountain range, on South Island, New Zealand, paralleling the west coast. It rises to 12,349 ft (3,764 m) at Mt. Aorangi (Mt. Cook), New Zealand's highest peak. Extensively glaciated, t...

United States Naval Observatory

(Encyclopedia)United States Naval Observatory, a federal astronomical observatory, located in Washington, D. C. It evolved from the Navy's oldest scientific institution, the Depot of Charts and Instruments, founded...

Kuiper Airborne Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Kuiper Airborne Observatory: see infrared astronomy. ...

Gamma-Ray Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Gamma-Ray Observatory: see gamma-ray astronomy. ...

Infrared Space Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Infrared Space Observatory: see infrared astronomy. ...

European Council

(Encyclopedia)European Council, institution of the European Union (EU) responsible for defining the EU's general political direction and priorities. It is composed of an elected president (who serves a two-and-a-ha...

Kitt Peak National Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Kitt Peak National Observatory, astronomical observatory located southwest of Tucson, Ariz.; it was founded in 1958 under contract with the National Science Foundation and is administered by the Assoc...

European Commission

(Encyclopedia)European Commission (EC), institution of the European Union (EU) invested with executive powers; it also is the main EU institution that initiates legislation. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was fou...

European Parliament

(Encyclopedia)European Parliament, an institution of the governing body of the European Union (EU). It convenes on a monthly basis in Strasbourg, France; most meetings of the separate parliamentary committees are h...

Southern Pacific Company

(Encyclopedia)Southern Pacific Company, transportation system chartered (1865) in California and later reincorporated in Kentucky (1885) and Delaware (1947). Small railroads—known collectively as the Southern Pac...