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Gill, Sir David

(Encyclopedia)Gill, Sir David gĭl [key], 1843–1914, Scottish astronomer, educated at the Univ. of Aberdeen. He made observations of the transits of Venus and Mars and investigated the solar parallax. As astronom...

Ritchey, George Willis

(Encyclopedia)Ritchey, George Willis, 1864–1945, American astronomer, b. Meigs co., Ohio, studied at the Univ. of Cincinnati (1883–84, 1886–87). He was superintendent of instrument construction (1899–1904) ...

Mauna Kea Observatories

(Encyclopedia)Mauna Kea Observatories mouˈnə kāˈə [key], astronomical observatory complex located on Mauna Kea peak, the “white mountain” on the island of Hawaii, at an altitude of more than 13,600 ft (4,1...

Struve

(Encyclopedia)Struve shtro͞oˈvə [key], family of astronomers. Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, 1793–1864, was born in Germany but later lived in Russia. While director (1817–39) of Dorpat Observatory he w...

Pulkovo

(Encyclopedia)Pulkovo po͞olˈkəvə [key], astronomical observatory, S of St. Petersburg, NW Russia. Pulkovo was built (1834–39) under a commission headed by F. G. W. von Struve. In 1839 its 15-in. (38-cm) refra...

Keeler, James Edward

(Encyclopedia)Keeler, James Edward, 1857–1900, American astronomer, b. La Salle, Ill. At the age of 21 he went on the Naval Observatory expedition to Colorado to observe the solar eclipse of July, 1878. In 1886 h...

Burnham, Sherburne Wesley

(Encyclopedia)Burnham, Sherburne Wesley, 1838–1921, American astronomer, b. Thetford, Vt. After serving as observer at Dearborn Observatory, Chicago (1877–81, 1882–84), and as astronomer at Lick Observatory (...

Indo-European Family of Languages, The (table)

(Encyclopedia)The Indo-European Family of Languages * Asterisk indicates a dead language. ...

Palomar Mountain

(Encyclopedia)Palomar Mountain pălˈōmär [key], peak, 6,126 ft (1,867 m) high, S Calif., NE of San Diego, in Cleveland National Forest. It is the site of the Palomar Observatory, operated by the California Insti...

tidewater

(Encyclopedia)tidewater, in U.S. history, that part of the Atlantic coastal plain between the shoreline and the farthest upstream points in rivers reached by oceanic tides. In many cases the fall line is given as t...