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hail, in meteorology

(Encyclopedia)hail, precipitation in the form of pellets composed of ice or of ice and snow, occurring at any time of the year, usually during the passage of a cold front or during a thunderstorm. Small hailstones ...

mine, in warfare

(Encyclopedia)mine, in warfare, term formerly applied to a system of tunnels dug under an army fortification and ending in a chamber where either explosives were placed to be detonated at a chosen moment or the sup...

Titan , in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Titan tīˈtən [key], in astronomy, the largest of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn VI (or S6), Titan is 3,200 mi (5,150 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mea...

impressionism, in painting

(Encyclopedia)impressionism, in painting, late-19th-century French school that was generally characterized by the attempt to depict transitory visual impressions, often painted directly from nature, and by the use ...

rocket, in aeronautics

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Relative positions of the components of the Saturn V rocket, the U.S. space vehicle used in the moon missions rocket, any vehicle propelled by ejection of the gases produced by combustion of s...

conjunction, in astronomy

(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 in conjunction ...

Pan, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Pan, in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn XVIII (or S18), Pan is 12.5 mi (20 km) in diameter, orbits Saturn at a mean distance of 83,000 mi (133...

Pegasus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Pegasus pĕgˈəsəs [key], in astronomy, northern constellation lying SW of Andromeda and SE of Cygnus. It is named for the mythological winged horse Pegasus. The constellation is easily recognized b...

Perseus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Perseus, in astronomy, northern constellation lying E of Cassiopeia and N of Taurus. It contains the bright star Mirfak (Alpha Persei) and Algol (Beta Persei), a visible variable star of the type know...

caribou, in zoology

(Encyclopedia)caribou, name in North America for the genus (Rangifer) of deer from which the Old World reindeer was originally domesticated. Caribou are found in arctic and subarctic regions. They are the only deer...