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Clairaut, Alexis Claude
(Encyclopedia)Clairaut, Alexis Claude älĕksĕsˈ klōd klĕrōˈ [key], 1713–65, French mathematician. He assisted P. L. M. de Maupertuis in measuring (1736) a degree of an arc of a meridian in Lapland. He is n...La Condamine, Charles Marie de
(Encyclopedia)La Condamine, Charles Marie de shärl märēˈ də lä kôNdämēnˈ [key], 1701–74, French traveler and mathematical geographer. He was one of a group sent to Peru in 1735 to measure the length of ...Agulhas, Cape
(Encyclopedia)Agulhas, Cape əgŭˈləs [key] [Port.,=needles], Western Cape province, South Africa; the southernmost point of Africa. Its name refers to the saw-edged reefs and sunken rocks that run out to sea and...transit
(Encyclopedia)transit, in astronomy, passage of a body across a meridian or passage of a small body across the visible disk of a larger one. (The passage of a large body across a smaller one is called an eclipse or...international date line
(Encyclopedia)international date line, imaginary line on the earth's surface, generally following the 180° meridian of longitude, where, by international agreement, travelers change dates. Traveling eastward acros...Cassini
(Encyclopedia)Cassini käs-sēˈnē [key], name of a family of Italian-French astronomers, four generations of whom were directors of the Paris Observatory. Gian Domenico Cassini, 1625–1712, was born in Italy and...Greenwich, borough, Greater London, England
(Encyclopedia)Greenwich grĭnˈīj, grĕnˈ– [key], inner borough of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. ...Mayer, Johann Tobias
(Encyclopedia)Mayer, Johann Tobias yōˈhän tōbēˈäs mīˈər [key], 1723–62, German mathematician and astronomer. In 1751 he became professor of economics and mathematics at the Univ. of Göttingen, and in 1...solar time
(Encyclopedia)solar time, time defined by the position of the sun. The solar day is the time it takes for the sun to return to the same meridian in the sky. Local solar time is measured by a sundial. When the cente...Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph
(Encyclopedia)Delambre, Jean Baptiste Joseph zhäN bätēstˈ zhôzĕfˈ dəläNˈbrə [key], 1749–1822, French astronomer and mathematician. He was a member of the bureau of longitudes from 1795 and professor at...Browse by Subject
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