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opposition

(Encyclopedia)opposition, in astronomy, alignment of two celestial bodies on opposite sides of the sky as viewed from earth. Opposition of the moon or planets is often determined in reference to the sun. Only the s...

von Braun, Wernher

(Encyclopedia)von Braun, Wernher vôn broun [key], 1912–77, German-American rocket scientist and astronautics engineer, b. Germany, grad. Berlin Technological Institute (B.S., 1932), Univ. of Berlin (Ph.D., 1934)...

Columbia Plateau

(Encyclopedia)Columbia Plateau, physiographic region of North America, c.100,000 sq mi (259,000 sq km), NW United States, between the Rocky Mts. and the Cascade Range in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Most of the p...

Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonald

(Encyclopedia)Heinlein, Robert Anson MacDonald hīˈlīn [key], 1907–88, American science-fiction writer, b. Butler, Mo. His best-known novel, Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), concerns a young man who is raised...

Odum, Howard Washington

(Encyclopedia)Odum, Howard Washington ōˈdəm [key], 1884–1954, American sociologist, b. Bethlehem, Ga., grad. Emory College, 1904, Ph.D. Clark Univ., 1909, and Ph.D. Columbia, 1910. In 1920 he became professor ...

Babbitt, Natalie

(Encyclopedia)Babbitt, Natalie, 1932–2016, American children's book author and illustrator, b. Dayton, Ohio, as Natalie Zane Moore, grad. Smith College, 1954. She illustrated The Forty-Ninth Magician (1966), writ...

Pavese, Cesare

(Encyclopedia)Pavese, Cesare chāˈzärā pävĕˈsā [key], 1908–50, Italian novelist, poet, and translator. A major literary figure in postwar Italy, Pavese brought American influence to Italian literature thro...

Twin Falls

(Encyclopedia)Twin Falls, city (1990 pop. 27,591), seat of Twin Falls co., S Idaho, in the Snake River valley; inc. 1905. The city began as a center of a private irrigation project, which is supplemented by the Min...

sky

(Encyclopedia)sky, apparent dome over the earth, background of the clouds, sun, moon, and stars. The blue color of the clear daytime sky results from the selective scattering of light rays by the minute particles o...

Stephens, James

(Encyclopedia)Stephens, James, 1882–1950, Irish poet and fiction writer, b. Dublin. One of the leading figures of the Irish literary renaissance, Stephens is best known for his fanciful and highly colored prose w...