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frostweed

(Encyclopedia)frostweed or frostwort, North American woodland flowers (Helianthemum canadense and sometimes other related species) of the family Cistaceae (rockrose family). In cold weather, crystals of ice shoot f...

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...

X-ray astronomy

(Encyclopedia)X-ray astronomy, study of celestial objects by means of the X rays they emit, in the wavelength range from 0.01 to 10 nanometers. X-ray astronomy dates to 1949 with the discovery that the sun emits X ...

SOS

(Encyclopedia)SOS, code letters of the international distress signal. The signal is expressed in International Morse code as … — — — ……———… (three dots, three dashes, three dots). This c...

space science

(Encyclopedia)space science, body of scientific knowledge as it relates to space exploration; it is sometimes also called astronautics. Space science draws on the conventional sciences of physics, chemistry, biolog...

Blackpool

(Encyclopedia)Blackpool, borough and unitary authority (2021 est. pop. 138,380), Lancashire, NW England, on the Irish Sea. Famed as a traditionally working-class reso...

Maranhão

(Encyclopedia)Maranhão mərənyouNˈ [key], state (1996 pop. 5,218,442), 126,897 sq mi (328,663 sq km), NE Brazil, on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is São Luís (also known as Maranhão). Agriculture and livest...

Darmstadt

(Encyclopedia)Darmstadt därmˈshtät [key], city, Hesse, central Germany. It is a commercial, industrial, and ...

clapboard

(Encyclopedia)clapboard klăbˈərd [key], board used for the exterior finish of a wood-framed building and attached horizontally to the wood studs. The word, in its original and strict use, refers to a product of ...

Abbot, Charles Greeley

(Encyclopedia)Abbot, Charles Greeley, 1872–1973, American astrophysicist, b. Wilton, N.H. He was acting director in 1896 and director in 1907 of the astrophysical observatory of the Smithsonian Institution; he wa...