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universal time
(Encyclopedia)universal time (UT), the international time standard common to every place in the world, it nominally reflects the mean solar time along the earth's prime meridian (renumbered to equate to civil time)...civil time
(Encyclopedia)civil time, local time based on universal time. Civil time may be formally defined as mean solar time plus 12 hr; the civil day begins at midnight, while the mean solar day begins at noon. Civil time ...standard time
(Encyclopedia)standard time, civil time used within a given time zone. The earth is divided into 24 time zones, each of which is about 15° of longitude wide and corresponds to one hour of time. Within a zone all c...Greenwich mean time
(Encyclopedia)Greenwich mean time or Greenwich meridian time (GMT), the former name for mean solar time at the site of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, which is located on the prime meridian. In 1925 th...prime meridian
(Encyclopedia)prime meridian, meridian that is designated zero degree (0°) longitude, from which all other longitudes are measured. By international convention, it passes through the site of the Royal Observatory ...occultation
(Encyclopedia)occultation ŏkˌəltāˈshən [key], in astronomy, eclipse of one celestial body by another, e.g., when the moon lies between a star and the earth. Occultations of stars by the moon are important in ...Higden, Ranulf
(Encyclopedia)Higden, Ranulf, d. c.1364, English chronicler. He wrote the Polychronicon, a universal history, interesting chiefly for its display of the geographical, scientific, and historical knowledge of its tim...Feijoo, Benito Jerónimo
(Encyclopedia)Feijoo, Benito Jerónimo: bānēˈtō hārōˈnēmō fāēhōˈō [key], 1676–1764, Spanish Benedictine scholar and critic, abbot at Oviedo, Asturias. Feijoo led in bringing the Enlightenment to Spa...universal language
(Encyclopedia)universal language, a language intended to further communication and goodwill among peoples speaking different languages without necessarily replacing their native tongues. See international language....Villani, Giovanni
(Encyclopedia)Villani, Giovanni jōvänˈnē vēl-läˈnē [key], c.1275–1348, Italian historian of Florence. As a Florentine government functionary, he participated in some of the events he narrates. His 12-volu...Browse by Subject
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