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ellipse

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Ellipse ellipse, closed plane curve consisting of all points for which the sum of the distances between a point on the curve and two fixed points (foci) is the same. It is the conic section fo...

celestial meridian

(Encyclopedia)celestial meridian, vertical circle passing through the north celestial pole and an observer's zenith. It is an axis in the altazimuth coordinate system. ...

right ascension

(Encyclopedia)right ascension, in astronomy, one of the coordinates in the equatorial coordinate system. The right ascension of a celestial body is the angular distance measured eastward from the vernal equinox alo...

Niccoli, Niccolò de'

(Encyclopedia)Niccoli, Niccolò de' nēk-kōlôˈ dā nēkˈkōlē [key], 1363–1437, Italian humanist. One of the distinguished Florentine scholars in Cosimo de' Medici's circle, he wrote little but is remembered...

Auyuittuq National Park

(Encyclopedia)Auyuittuq National Park ouyo͞oˈətək, –ətŭkˌ [key], c.8,290 sq mi (21,470 sq km), E Baffin Island near Pangnirtung, Nunavut Territory, Canada; est. 1972. Located on the Cumberland Peninsula, i...

Lenclos, Ninon de

(Encyclopedia)Lenclos, Ninon de nēnôNˈ də läNklōˈ [key], 1620–1705, French beauty and wit. Her real name was Anne de Lenclos. She numbered among her many lovers and friends such eminent men as the Great Co...

Tasiilaq

(Encyclopedia)Tasiilaq ämäˈsälĭkˌ [key], settlement and trading post (1996 pop. 1,684), E Greenland, on the Denmark Strait just S of the Arctic Circle. It was founded in 1894. Its radio-meteorological station...

Sablé, Madeleine de Souvré, marquise de

(Encyclopedia)Sablé, Madeleine de Souvré, marquise de mädəlĕnˈ də so͞ovrāˈ, märkēzˈ də säblāˈ [key], 1599–1678, French woman of letters. Her salon was in vogue after the decline of the salon at t...

Verkhoyansk

(Encyclopedia)Verkhoyansk vyĕrkhəyänskˈ [key], town, Sakha Republic, NE Siberian Russia, on the Yana River, near the Arctic Circle. A river port, a fur-collecting depot, and the center of a reindeer-raising are...

Durrington Walls

(Encyclopedia)Durrington Walls, large henge overlooking the River Avon near Stonehenge and Amesbury, Wiltshire, S England. Although damaged and diminished by farming, erosion, and road construction, the henge would...