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Lowell Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Lowell Observatory, astronomical observatory located in Flagstaff, Ariz.; it was founded in 1894 by Percival Lowell, the American astronomer who popularized the idea that Mars might support intelligen...

theodolite

(Encyclopedia)theodolite thēŏdˈəlītˌ [key], calibrated optical instrument used to determine relative position in surveying, navigation, and meteorology. It is similar in construction to a surveyor's transit, ...

Penzias, Arno Allan

(Encyclopedia)Penzias, Arno Allan, 1933–, German-American physicist, b. Munich, Germany, Ph.D. Columbia Univ., 1962. He fled Nazi Germany with his family and after finishing school began work at Bell Telephone La...

McDonald Observatory

(Encyclopedia)McDonald Observatory, astronomical observatory located on Mt. Locke, near Fort Davis, Tex.; founded in 1932, sponsored by the Univ. of Texas in cooperation with the Univ. of Chicago. Its equipment inc...

Hercules, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)Hercules hûrˈkyəlēzˌ [key], in astronomy, northern constellation located between Lyra and Corona Borealis. It is traditionally depicted as the hero Hercules in a kneeling position. There are no v...

Foucault, Jean Bernard Léon

(Encyclopedia)Foucault, Jean Bernard Léon zhäN bĕrnärˈ lāôNˈ fo͞okōˈ [key], 1819–68, French physicist. Known especially for his research on the speed of light, he determined its velocity in air and fou...

Harvard College Observatory

(Encyclopedia)Harvard College Observatory, astronomical observatory located in Cambridge, Mass., operated by Harvard (Harvard College at the time of the observatory's founding in 1839). Its equipment includes a 61-...

Canary Islands

(Encyclopedia)Canary Islands, Span. Islas Canarias, group of seven islands (2020 est. pop. 2,161,000), 2,875 sq mi (7,445 sq km), autonomous community of Spain, ...

Copenhagen, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Copenhagen, battle of, 1801, an important incident of the French Revolutionary Wars. In Dec., 1800, Denmark joined Russia, Sweden, and Prussia in declaring the armed neutrality of the northern powers ...

Mather, John Cromwell

(Encyclopedia)Mather, John Cromwell, 1946–, American astrophysicist, b. Roanoke, Va., Ph.D. Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1974. He has been a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., s...