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radial velocity

(Encyclopedia)radial velocity, in astronomy, the speed with which a star moves toward or away from the sun. It is determined from the red or blue shift in the star's spectrum. ...

Secretariat

(Encyclopedia)Secretariat, 1970–89, thoroughbred race horse. Nicknamed “Big Red,” he was trained by Lucien Laurin and ridden by Ron Turcotte. In 1973 Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont...

Painted Desert

(Encyclopedia)Painted Desert, badlands on the northeastern bank of the Little Colorado River, NE Ariz., stretching c.200 mi (320 km) SE from the Grand Canyon; includes Petrified Forest National Park. Striking bands...

Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss

(Encyclopedia)Banks, Nathaniel Prentiss, 1816–94, American politician and Union general in the Civil War, b. Waltham, Mass. After serving in the Massachusetts legislature (1849–53), Banks entered Congress as a ...

rockfish

(Encyclopedia)rockfish, member of the family Sebastidae (rockfishes) according some authorities, but also classified as a member of the family Scorpaenidae (scorpionfishes, lionfishes, and rockfishes) by other auth...

squill

(Encyclopedia)squill, common name for two genera of Old World bulbous plants of the family Liliaceae (lily family). The horticulturists' squill is any plant of the genus Scilla, mostly spring-blooming low herbs wit...

Scholz's star

(Encyclopedia)Scholz's star, dim binary star system, consisting of a red dwarf and brown dwarf, in the constellation Monoceros, apparent magnitude 18.3. The red dwarf is a tiny star, with less than ten percent the ...

tanager

(Encyclopedia)tanager tănˈəjər [key], any of the small, migratory perching birds of the family Thraupidae, chiefly of the tropical New World. Only five species migrate to North America; of these the scarlet tan...

Arbour, Al

(Encyclopedia)Arbour, Al (Alger Joseph Arbour), 1932–2015, Canadian ice hockey player and coach. A defenseman, he joined the Detroit Red Wings in 1953, then moved to the Chicago Black Hawks in 1958, Toronto Maple...

Mathewson, Christy

(Encyclopedia)Mathewson, Christy (Christopher Mathewson) măthˈəsən, –yəsən [key], 1880–1925, American baseball player, b. Factoryville, Pa., grad. Bucknell Univ., 1902. A righthander, he joined the Cincin...
 

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