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Moe, Jørgen Engebretsen

(Encyclopedia)Moe, Jørgen Engebretsen yörˈgən ĕngˈəbrĕtsən mōˈə [key], 1813–82, Norwegian folklorist and poet, bishop of Kristiansand. He collected and revised sagas and folk songs, and he collaborate...

Oort, Jan Hendrik

(Encyclopedia)Oort, Jan Hendrik ōrt [key], 1900–1992, Dutch astronomer. He confirmed (1927) Bertil Lindblad's theory of the Milky Way galaxy's rotation. In the 1950s he and his colleagues used radio astronomical...

aureole, in physics

(Encyclopedia)aureole ôrˈēōlˌ [key], in physics, luminous circle seen when the sun or other bright light is observed through a diffuse medium, i.e., smoke, thin cloud, fog, haze, or mist. It sometimes occurs a...

Medary, Samuel

(Encyclopedia)Medary, Samuel mĕdˈərē [key], 1801–64, American journalist, b. Montgomery co., Pa. In Ohio after 1825, he edited the Ohio Sun at Bethel and later the Ohio Statesman at Columbus and was superinte...

sidereal year

(Encyclopedia)sidereal year, time required for the earth to complete an orbit of the sun relative to the stars. The sidereal year is 365 days, 6 hr, 9 min, 9.5 sec of mean solar time (see solar time). It is 20 min ...

Caso, Alfonso

(Encyclopedia)Caso, Alfonso älfōnˈsō käˈsō [key], 1896–1970, Mexican archaeologist. An authority on the ancient high civilizations of Mexico, he directed explorations at Mitla and Monte Albán during the 1...

Posidonius

(Encyclopedia)Posidonius pōsēdōˈnēəs [key], c.135–c.51 b.c., Greek Stoic philosopher, b. Apamea, Syria. He settled in Rhodes after extensive travels. Noted for his learning, Posidonius gave new life to Stoi...

megapode

(Encyclopedia)megapode mĕgˈəpōdˌ [key], common name for large, stout-bodied, long-tailed, terrestrial, nonmigratory birds comprising six genera in the family Megapodiidae. Members of the family have large, str...

Bode's law

(Encyclopedia)Bode's law [for J. E. Bode], also known as Titius's law or the Titius-Bode law, empirical relationship between the mean distances of the planets from the sun. If each number in the series 0, 3, 6, 12,...

dog days

(Encyclopedia)dog days, name for the most sultry period of summer, from about July 3 to Aug. 11. Named in early times by observers in countries bordering the Mediterranean, the period was reckoned as extending from...