Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) meteor, appearance of a small particle flying through space that interacts with the earth's upper atmosphere. While still outside the atmosphere, the particle is known as a meteoroid. Countless meteor...

(Encyclopedia) aurora borealis ôstrāˈlĭs [key], luminous display of various forms and colors seen in the night sky. The aurora borealis of the Northern Hemisphere is often called the northern lights, and the aur...

(Encyclopedia) megachurch, large Protestant church with an average weekly attendance of 2,000 or more; relatively uncommon until after 1970. In the United States, where most megachurches are located, there were more...

(Encyclopedia) perturbation pŭrˌtərbāˈshən [key], in astronomy and physics, small force or other influence that modifies the otherwise simple motion of some object. The term is also used for the effect produce...

(Encyclopedia) casino or cassino both: kəsēˈnō [key]. 1 Card game played with a full deck by two to four players. Its origins are obscure though it probably traces back to the Italian game of Scopa. It is a very...

(Encyclopedia) computer graphics, the transfer of pictorial data into and out of a computer. Using analog-to-digital conversion techniques, a variety of devices—such as curve tracers, digitizers, and light pens—...

(Encyclopedia) Arapaho ərăpˈəhō [key], Native North Americans of the Plains whose language belongs to the Algonquian branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). Their own...

(Encyclopedia) Slavic religion, pre-Christian religious practices among the Slavs of Eastern Europe. There is only fragmentary and scattered information about the myths and legends of the pagan Slavs, and it is not ...

(Encyclopedia) stellar populations, two broadly contrasting distributions of star types that are characteristic of different parts of a galaxy. Population I stars are young, recently formed stars, whereas population...

(Encyclopedia) Presley, Elvis (Elvis Aaron Presley), 1935–77, American popular singer, b. Tupelo, Miss. Exposed to gospel music from childhoo...