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Virgo

(Encyclopedia)Virgo vûr´g [key] [Lat.,=the virgin], constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Libra and Leo, and SW of Boötes; it is one of the constellations of...

Virgin, The

(Encyclopedia)Virgin, The, English name for Virgo, a constellation.

Spica

(Encyclopedia)Spica sp´k [key], brightest star in the constellation Virgo; Bayer designation Alpha Virginis; 1992 position R.A. 13h24.8m, Dec. 11°07. A bluish-white star of spectral class B1 V, its appa...

Local Group

(Encyclopedia)Local Group, in astronomy, loose cluster of at least 40 nearby galaxies, including our own Milky Way galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Magellanic Clouds. The Local Group is spread over an ellipsoi...

Astraea

(Encyclopedia)Astraea str´ [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of justice; daughter of Zeus and Themis. Because of the wickedness of man, she withdrew from the earth at the end of the Golden Age ...

Hydra

(Encyclopedia)Hydra, in astronomy, southern constellation lying S of Corvus, Crater, Virgo, Leo, and Cancer. It is a long, slender, winding constellation traditionally depicted as a snake and known also as the Wate...

Libra

(Encyclopedia)Libra l´br, l´– [key] [Lat.,=the scales], southern constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Virgo and Scorpius; it is one of the constellatio...

Leo

(Encyclopedia)Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the z...

Constellations

(Encyclopedia)ConstellationsConstellationEnglish namePositionR.A.(hours)DEC.(degrees)AndromedaAndromeda (Chained Lady)1+43AntliaAir Pump10-33ApusBird of Paradise16-75Aquarius1Water Bearer23-13AquilaEagle20+4AraAlta...

gravitation

(Encyclopedia)gravitation, the attractive force existing between any two particles of matter. The Law of Universal Gravitation Since the gravitational force is experienced by all matter in the universe, from the la...

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