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definitions
science
Term | Definition |
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polaris | the polestar or North Star, a star of the second magnitude situated close to the north pole of the heavens, in the constellation Ursa Minor: the outermost star in the handle of the Little Dipper. |
latitude | the angular distance north or south from the equator of a point on the earth's surface, measured on the meridian of the point. |
longitude | angular distance east or west on the earth's surface, measured by the angle contained between the meridian of a particular place and some prime meridian, as that of Greenwich |
ellipse | a plane curve such that the sums of the distances of each point in its periphery from two fixed points, the foci, are equal. |
summer solstice | the solstice on or about June 21st that marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. |
winter solstice | the solstice on or about December 21st that marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. |
equinox | the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 |