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The gaseous mass or envelope surrounding a celestial body, especially the one surrounding the earth, and retained by the celestial body's gravitational field.
The air or climate in a specific place. |
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| On or toward the side to which the wind is blowing |
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| Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. The summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere occurs about June 21, when the sun is in the zenith at the tropic of Cancer; the winter solstice occurs about December 21, when the sun is over the tropic of Capricorn. The summer solstice is the longest day of the year and the winter solstice is the shortest. |
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| Orbital motion about a point, especially as distinguished from axial rotation: the planetary revolution about the sun. |
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| An accumulation of boulders, stones, or other debris carried and deposited by a glacier. |
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| The waters of the earth's surface as distinguished from those of the lithosphere and the atmosphere. |
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| Either of two points on the celestial sphere at which the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator. |
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| Shedding or losing foliage at the end of the growing season: deciduous trees. |
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| A region of the ocean near the equator, characterized by calms, light winds, or squalls. |
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| A straight line about which a body or geometric object rotates or may be conceived to rotate. |
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| A fracture in the continuity of a rock formation caused by a shifting or dislodging of the earth's crust, in which adjacent surfaces are displaced relative to one another and parallel to the plane of fracture. Also called shift. |
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| The movement, formation, or re-formation of continents described by the theory of plate tectonics |
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| A buff to gray windblown deposit of fine-grained, calcareous silt or clay |
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| The meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region. |
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| Water beneath the earth's surface, often between saturated soil and rock, that supplies wells and springs. |
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| The phenomenon whereby the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through but absorb heat radiated back from the earth's surface. |
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| The observed effect of the Coriolis force, especially the deflection of an object moving above the earth, rightward in the northern hemisphere and leftward in the southern hemisphere |
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| region of the upper atmosphere, between about 15 and 30 kilometers (10 and 20 miles) in altitude, containing a relatively high concentration of ozone that absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation in a wavelength range not screened by other atmospheric components. Also called ozonosphere |
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| region of the upper atmosphere, between about 15 and 30 kilometers (10 and 20 miles) in altitude, containing a relatively high concentration of ozone that absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation in a wavelength range not screened by other atmospheric components. Also called ozonosphere |
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| region of the upper atmosphere, between about 15 and 30 kilometers (10 and 20 miles) in altitude, containing a relatively high concentration of ozone that absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation in a wavelength range not screened by other atmospheric components. Also called ozonosphere |
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