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larch

(Encyclopedia) larch, any tree of the genus Larix, conifers of the family Pinaceae (pine family), which are unusual in that they are not evergreen. The various species are widely distributed in the…

National Museum of the American Indian

(Encyclopedia) National Museum of the American Indian, institution devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of the culture of the indigenous populations of the Western Hemisphere, a…

Iapetus, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia) IapetusIapetusīăpˈĭtəs [key], in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn. Also known as Saturn VIII (or S8), Iapetus is 907 mi (1460 km) in diameter, orbits…

Gray, Asa

(Encyclopedia) Gray, Asa, 1810–88, one of America's leading botanists and taxonomists, b. Oneida co., N.Y. As professor of natural history at Harvard from 1842, he was the teacher of many eminent…

horse latitudes

(Encyclopedia) horse latitudes, two belts of latitude where winds are light and the weather is hot and dry. They are located mostly over the oceans, at about 30° lat. in each hemisphere, and have a…

grebe

(Encyclopedia) grebegrebegrēb [key], common name for swimming birds found on or near quiet waters in most parts of the world. Grebes resemble the loon and the duck; they have short wings, vestigial…

sandpiper

(Encyclopedia) sandpiper, common name for some members of the large family Scolopacidae, small shore birds, including the snipe and the curlew. Sandpipers are wading birds with relatively long legs…

titmouse

(Encyclopedia) titmouse, common name for members of the Paridae, a family of passerine birds, which includes the tits, titmice, and chickadees. They are small, active birds with short, pointed bills…

The Auroras

The “northern lights” (Aurora borealis) as well as the “southern lights” (Aurora australis) are upper-atmosphere phenomena of astronomical origin. The auroras center around the magnetic (not…