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melanin

(Encyclopedia)melanin mĕlˈənĭn [key], water-insoluble polymer of various compounds derived from the amino acid tyrosine. It is one of two pigments found in human skin and hair and adds brown to skin color; the ...

North West

(Encyclopedia)North West, province (2011 pop. 3,509,953), 40,495 sq mi (104,882 sq km), N central South Africa. In 1994, under South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, North West was created from parts of the fo...

obelisk

(Encyclopedia)obelisk ŏbˈəlĭsk [key], slender four-sided tapering monument, usually hewn of a single great piece of stone, terminating in a pointed or pyramidal top. Among the ancient Egyptians these monoliths ...

Orpheus

(Encyclopedia)Orpheus ôrˈfēəs, ôrˈfyo͞os [key], in Greek mythology, celebrated Thracian musician. He was the son of Calliope by Apollo or, according to another legend, by Oeagrus, a king of Thrace. Supposedl...

Taurus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Taurus [Lat.,= the bull], in astronomy, constellation NW of Orion and lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Gemini and Aries; it is one of the constellations of t...

puffer

(Encyclopedia)puffer or pufferfish, common name for some tropical marine fish of the family Tetraodontidae. The puffers and their allies, including the boxfish, the porcupinefish, the triggerfish, and the marine su...

St.-John's-wort

(Encyclopedia)St.-John's-wort, any species of the large and widespread herbaceous or shrubby genus Hypericum of the family Hypericaceae (St.-John's-wort family), usually found in moist, open places and often having...

Sedna

(Encyclopedia)Sedna, in astronomy, the most distant known large object in the solar system. With a highly eccentric elliptical orbit that ranges from an estimated 76 AU to 937 AU, Sedna also has an extremely long o...

Jupiter, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Jupiter jo͞oˈpətər [key], in astronomy, 5th planet from the sun and largest planet of the solar system. Astronomers have discovered 79 satellites orbiting Jupiter, but five of those, small sate...

dwarf planet

(Encyclopedia)dwarf planet, a nonluminous body of rock or gas that orbits the sun and has a rounded shape due to its gravity. Unlike a planet, a dwarf planet is not capable of clearing its orbit of smaller objects ...