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Adhara

(Encyclopedia)Adhara ădhârˈə [key], bright star in the constellation Canis Major; Bayer designation ε Canis Majoris; 1992 position R.A. 6h58.3m, Dec. −31°54′. A bluish-white giant (spectral class B2 II) w...

Carter, Gary Edmund

(Encyclopedia)Carter, Gary Edmund, 1954–2012, American baseball player, b. Culver City, Calif. A superb catcher and clutch-hitting right-handed slugger, he played in the majors for 19 years. Drafted (1972) by the...

Lucas, George W., Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Lucas, George W., Jr., 1944–, American film director, producer, and writer, b. Modesto, Calif. Although Lucas's first film, THX-1138 (1970), was not successful, his next two, American Graffiti (1973...

Hyades, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Hyades hīˈədēz [key], in astronomy, open star cluster in the constellation Taurus, located immediately to the right of the bright star Aldebaran. The cluster is about 130 light-years from the eart...

anise

(Encyclopedia)anise ănˈĭs [key], annual plant (Pimpinella anisum) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Mediterranean region but long cultivated elsewhere for its aromatic and medicinal qual...

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

(Encyclopedia)CE5 The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram shows the relation between the luminosity and surface temperature (which is related to spectral class, or color) of the stars in the Milky Way. Most stars fall a...

Kundla, John Albert

(Encyclopedia)Kundla, John Albert, 1916–, American basketball coach, b. Star Junction, Pa. A star player at the Univ. of Minnesota, he served in the navy during World War II, then coached (1946–47) at the Colle...

virtual telescope

(Encyclopedia)virtual telescope, a computerized interferometer (see interference) that merges the images from two or more telescopes to obtain a single, large, enhanced image. The image in each telescope is made fr...

Orion Nebula

(Encyclopedia)Orion Nebula, bright diffuse nebula in the constellation Orion; also known as the Great Nebula of Orion and cataloged as M42 or NGC 1976. It is located near the middle of the “sword” hanging from ...

Paige, Satchel

(Encyclopedia)Paige, Satchel (Leroy Paige) săchˈəl pāj [key], 1906–82, American baseball player, b. Mobile, Ala. He began pitching in 1924, joined his first professional team two years later, and became a sta...