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evening star

(Encyclopedia)evening star or morning star, planet that becomes visible in the western sky shortly after sunset or in the eastern sky shortly before sunrise. It can usually be seen in twilight, when it is too light...

Bouaké

(Encyclopedia)Bouaké or Bwake bwäˈkā, bwäkāˈ [key], town, central Côte d'Ivoire. It is a transp...

Capella, Martianus

(Encyclopedia)Capella, Martianus märshēāˈnəs kəpĕlˈə [key], fl. 5th cent.?, Latin writer, b. Carthage. His one famous work, The Marriage of Mercury and Philology, also called the Satyricon and Disciplinae,...

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...

detonator

(Encyclopedia)detonator dĕˈtənāˌtər [key], type of explosive that reacts with great rapidity and is used to set off other, more inert explosives. Fulminate of mercury mixed with potassium chlorate is a common...

Federal Theatre

(Encyclopedia)Federal Theatre (1935–39), branch of the Work Projects Administration designed to provide employment for actors, directors, writers, and scene designers. As well as providing a nationwide audience w...

Indawgyi

(Encyclopedia)Indawgyi, largest lake in Myanmar, c.100 sq mi (250 sq km), in Kachin State, 65 mi (105 km) WSW of Myitkyina. Indawgyi has a maximum length of 15 mi (24 km) and maximum width of 8 mi (13 km). The lake...

Schwabe, Samuel Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Schwabe, Samuel Heinrich zäˈmo͞oĕl hīnˈrĭkh shväbˈə [key], 1789–1875, German apothecary and amateur astronomer. In the hope of discovering a new planet between Mercury and the sun, he made...

Carson Sink

(Encyclopedia)Carson Sink, swampy area, c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), W Nev.; a remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan. Fallon National Wildlife Refuge is located there. The Carson River (c.125 mi/200 km long), fed by melted ...

quadrature

(Encyclopedia)quadrature, in astronomy, arrangement of two celestial bodies at right angles to each other as viewed from a reference point. If the reference point is the earth and the sun is one of the bodies, a pl...