| Caelum |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A summer constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a chisel.
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| Callisto |
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proper noun
- (astronomy) A moon of Jupiter.
- (mythology) A nymph of Artemis.
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| Camelopardalis |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A faint circumpolar constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a giraffe.
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| canal |
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noun
- A channel which connects one body of water to another.
- A waterway used for transportation of vessels, especially a manmade one.
- A tubular channel within the body.
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| Canis Major |
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proper noun (canis- Latin, Canis major
- Latin, Major)
- (constellation) A winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a dog following the hunter Orion. It includes the brightest star in the night sky Sirius, which is appropriately known as the Dog Star.
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| Canis Minor |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A small winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a dog following the hunter Orion. It is most notable for including the eighth brightest star in the night sky, Procyon.
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| Canopus |
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proper noun
- (star) A yellowish-white supergiant star in the constellation Carina; Alpha (α) Carinae. It is the second brightest star in the night sky.
- (greekmyth) The pilot of King Menelaus's ship in the Iliad.
- An ancient city in northern Egypt, known for extravagance.
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| Capella |
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proper noun
- (star): A bright double star in the constellation Auriga; Alpha (α) Aurigae.
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| Capricorn |
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proper noun
- (constellation): A constellation of the zodiac supposedly shaped like a goat.
- (astrology): The Zodiac sign for the goat, covering December 22 - January 21.
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| carbon star |
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noun
- (astronomy) any of a class of red giant stars having a high proportion of carbon because of helium burning
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| Carina |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A summer constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble the keel of a ship. It contains the star Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky. Until 1763, it was part of a larger constellation, Argo Navis.
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| Cassiopeia |
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proper noun
- (greekmyth) Proud wife of Cepheus and mother of Andromeda, queen of Eritrea. When she boasted that her beauty was equal to that of the Nereids, she was punished by Poseidon.
- (constellation) A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky representing Queen Cassiopeia from Greek myth. The constellation lies between Cepheus and Perseus.
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| Castor |
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proper noun - (greekmyth): One of the Dioscuri
- (star): A double star in the constellation Gemini; alpha (α) Geminorum.
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| celestial pole |
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noun - An imaginary point situated where a planet's axis intersects the celestial sphere.
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| celestial sphere |
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noun
- (astronomy) An abstract sphere of infinite radius which serves as the imaginary backdrop for celestial objects, and of which the visible sky is one hemisphere.
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| Centaur |
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noun
- (greekmyth) one of a race of monsters having a head, trunk, and arms of a man, and the body and legs of a horse.
- (astronomy) An icy planetoid that orbits the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune.
- a skillfull horseman or horsewoman.
- (Rocketry) a U.S. upper stage, with a restartable liquid-propellant engine, used with an Atlas or Titan booster to launch satellites and probes.
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| Centaurus |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A spring constellation of the northern sky (and autumn of the southern sky) with the outline of a centaur. It includes the stars Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri.
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| Cepheus |
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proper noun
- (greekmyth) Husband of Cassiopeia, king of Eritrea, father of Andromeda. There may be two mythical kings by this name.
- (constellation) A circumpolar constellation of the northern sky representing the king Cepheus from Greek myth. The constellation lies between Draco and Cassiopeia.
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| Ceres |
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proper noun
- (mythology) The Roman goddess of agriculture; equivalent to the Greek goddess Demeter.
- (astronomy) A celestial body orbitting between Mars and Jupiter; previously defined as an asteroid; now officially known as a dwarf planet; officially called 1 Ceres.
(wikipedia, 1 Ceres)
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| Cetus |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A winter constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a whale. It includes the star Mira.
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| Chamaeleon |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A small circumpolar constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a chamaeleon. It lies south of the constellations Carina and Musca.
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| Charon |
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proper noun
- (astronomy) The largest of three moons of Pluto. (Read more at w:Charon (moon), Wikipedia)
- (greekmyth) The ferryman of Hades. (Read more at w:Charon (mythology), Wikipedia)
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| chisel |
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noun
- A tool consisting of a slim oblong block of metal which is flattened to a sharp edge at one end and attached to a handle at the other end. It is used mainly to remove parts of stone or wood by placing the sharp edge against the material and pounding the handle with a hammer.
verb
- (intransitive) To use a chisel.
- (transitive) To work something with a chisel.
- She chiselled a sculpture out of the block of wood.
- (colloquial) To cheat, to get something by cheating.
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| chromosphere |
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noun
- (star) The faint pink extension of a star's atmospheric envelope between the corona and the photosphere
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| Circinus |
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proper noun
- (constellation) A small constellation of the southern winter sky, said to resemble a compass. It lies between the constellations of Centaurus and Triangulum Australe.
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| circle |
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noun
- (geometry): A two-dimensional geometric figure, a line, consisting of the set of all those points in a plane that are equally distant from another point.
- The set of all points (x, y) such that <math>(x-1)^2 + y^2 = r^2 </math> is a of radius r around the point (1, 0).
- A two-dimensional geometric figure, a disk, consisting of the set of all those points of a plane at a distance less than or equal to a fixed distance from another point.
- Any thin three-dimensional equivalent of the geometric figures.
- Put on your dunce-cap and sit down on that .
- A curve that more or less forms part or all of a circle.
- move in a
- Orbit.
- A specific group of persons.
- inner
- of friends
- (cricket) A line comprising two semicircles of 30 yds radius centred on the wickets joined by straight lines parallel to the pitch used to enforce field restrictions in a one-day match.
verb (circl, ing)
- (transitive) To travel around along a curved path.
- (transitive) To surround.
- (transitive) To place or mark a circle around.
- Circle the jobs that you are interested in applying for.
- (intransitive) To travel in circles.
- Vultures circled overhead.
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| circumpolar |
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adjective
- Located or found throughout a polar region.
- (context, astronomy) Of a celestial body, continually visible above the horizon during the entire 360 degrees of daily travel.
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| cislunar |
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adjective
- situated between the earth and the moon
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| cluster |
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noun
- A group or bunch of something, containing only a few members, which are close to each other.
- A of flowers grew in the pot.
- (astronomy) A group of galaxy, galaxies or stars that appear near each other.
- The Pleiades contains seven bright stars.
- (music) A chord of three or more notes.
- (phonetics) A group of consonants.
- The word "scrub" begins with a of three consonants.
- (computing) A group of computers that work together.
- (statistics) A significant subset within a population.
- (military) Set of bombs or mines.
- (context, army) A small metal design that indicates that a medal has been awarded to the same person before.
verb
- (intransitive) To form into a cluster.
- The children clustered together around the puppy.
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| coma |
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noun
- A state of sleep from which one may not wake up, usually induced by some form of trauma.
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| comet |
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noun
- (astronomy) A celestial body consisting mainly of ice, dust and gas in an (usually very eccentric) orbit around the Sun and having a "tail" of matter blown back from it by the solar wind as it approaches the Sun.
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| corona |
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noun (plural: coronae or coronas)
- A crown or garland bestowed among the Romans as a reward for distinguished services.
- (star): The luminous plasma atmosphere of the Sun or other star, extending millions of kilometres into space, most easily seen during a total solar eclipse,
- (biology): Any crown-like appendage of a plant or animal.
- (electrical): a low energy discharge caused by ionization of a gas by an electric field quite common at conductor bends of 12kV or higher.
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| Corvus |
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proper noun (wikipedia, Corvus (constellation))
- (constellation): A constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a crow. It lies south of the constellation Virgo.
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| cosmic |
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adjective
- of or from or pertaining to the cosmos or universe
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| cosmography |
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noun
- The creation of maps of the universe.
- The study of the size and geometry of the universe and changes in those with cosmic time.
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| cosmology |
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noun
- The study of the physical universe, its structure, dynamics, origin and evolution, and fate
- A metaphysics, metaphysical study into the origin and nature of the universe
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| crab |
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noun
- A crustacean of the infraorder Brachyura, having five pairs of legs, the foremost of which are in the form of claws, and a carapace.
- A bad-tempered person.
- (context, in plural crabs, informal) An infestation of pubic lice.
- (slang) A playing card with the rank of three.
verb (crabs, crabbing, crabbed)
- (intransitive) To fish for crabs.
- (intransitive) To complain.
- (intransitive) (by analogy with the movement of a crab) Of an aircraft, such as a glider, to move sideways.
- (transitive) (by analogy with the movement of a crab) To navigate (an aircraft, e.g., a glider) sideways against an air current in order to maintain a straight-line course.
- (context, obsolete) In World War 1, to fly slightly off the straight-line course towards an enemy aircraft, as the machine guns on early aircraft did not allow firing through the propeller disk.
- (rare) To back out of something.
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| Cross |
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proper noun
- An English topographic surname for someone who lived near a stone cross on a road
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| cross-staff |
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noun - (nautical) An early navigational instrument, consisting of a wooden rod with a sliding crosspiece, used for measuring the altitude of a star; it developed into the sextant
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| Crux |
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proper noun (wikipedia, Crux)
- (constellation) A distinctive winter constellation of the southern sky, shaped like a cross. It appears in the flags of several countries in Oceania.
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| culminate |
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verb (culminat, ing)
- (intransitive) To reach the highest point; to build up to a climax.
- Their messy breakup culminated in a restraining order.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/opinion/12tue1.html?ex=1158292800&en=baef3598e5784194&ei=5087%0A New York Times After that, paths diverge. Mr. Bush has been marking the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11 with a series of speeches about terrorism that culminated with his televised address last night.
- (intransitive) terminate; to end or finish, especially in a climactic manner
- The class will with a rigorous examination.
- (transitive) To bring to a conclusion, especially a decisive one.
- The obstacle course culminates in the vaunted Leap of Death.
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| culmination |
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noun - The attainment of the highest point of altitude reached by a heavenly body; passage across the meridian; transit.
- Attainment or arrival at the highest pitch of glory, power, etc.
category:English nouns
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| cusp |
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noun
- A sharp point or pointed end.
- (figuratively) An important moment when a decision is made that will determine future events.
- (geometry) A point of a curve where it has two tangents.
- (astrology) A boundary between zodiacal astrological sign, signs and houses.
- (dentistry) Any of the pointed parts of a canine tooth or molar.
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| Cygnus |
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proper noun (wikipedia, Cygnus)
- (constellation): A summer constellation of the northern sky, said to resemble a swan. It includes the stars Deneb and Albireo.
- (greekmyth): A king of the Ligurians and relative of Phaeton who was tranformed into a swan and placed in the sky as a constellation. Also called Cycnus.
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