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science
Term | Definition |
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polaris | Astronomy. 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 | Geography. 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. |
ellipse | an oval shaped closed curve;the shape of a planet's orbit. |
summer solstice | The summer solstice occurs when the tilt of a planet's semi-axis, in either the northern or the southern hemisphere, is most inclined toward the star (sun) that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt toward the sun is 23° 26'. the longest day of the year. |
winter solstice | the solstice that marks the onset of winter, at the time of the shortest day, about December 22 in the northern hemisphere and June 21 in the southern hemisphere. shortest day of the year. |
equinox | when the sun is directly over the equator and day an night are equally long. |