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hammock

(Encyclopedia)hammock, suspended bed, usually of netting, canvas, or leather. The hammock and its name were introduced to Europeans by Christopher Columbus, who learned of them from Native Americans. While the plai...

exobiology

(Encyclopedia)exobiology or astrobiology, search for extraterrestrial life within the solar system and throughout the universe. Philosophical speculation that there might be other worlds similar to ours dates back ...

Hale, George Ellery

(Encyclopedia)Hale, George Ellery, 1868–1938, American astronomer, b. Chicago, grad. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1890. He founded and directed three great observatories (Yerkes, Mt. Wilson, and Palomar...

Galileo

(Encyclopedia)Galileo (Galileo Galilei) gălˌĭlēˈō; gälēlĕˈō gälēlĕˈē [key], 1564–1642, great Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist. By his persistent investigation of natural laws he la...

Frascati

(Encyclopedia)Frascati fräskäˈtē [key], town, in Latium, central Italy. Beautifully situated in the Alban ...

Ogata Korin

(Encyclopedia)Ogata Korin ōgäˈtä kōˈrēn [key], 1658–1716, Japanese decorator and painter. He is renowned for his lacquer work and paintings on screens, decorated with bold designs and striking color contra...

Macdonald-Wright, Stanton

(Encyclopedia)Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890–1973, American artist, b. Charlottsville, Va. Macdonald-Wright was among the first Americans to paint in a totally abstract mode. Together with Morgan Russell, he fou...

Tanega-shima

(Encyclopedia)Tanega-shima tänāˈgä-shĭmä [key], island, 176 sq mi (456 sq km), off S Kyushu, Japan. Fishing and farming are important there. It is the site of Japan's main rocket launch center and a space sat...

Thornton

(Encyclopedia)Thornton, city (1990 pop. 55,031), Adams co., NE Colo., a residential and industrial suburb of Denver; inc. 1956. Industries include oil and gas development and the production of computer graphics sys...

Picayune

(Encyclopedia)Picayune pĭkəyo͞onˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 10,633), Pearl River co., S Miss., near the Pearl River and the La. line; inc. 1904. It is the trade, processing, and shipping center for an agricultural...