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@TEXT@
No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as
well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have
just addressed the House. But different men often see the
same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it
will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if,
entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite
to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and
without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The
questing before the House is one of awful moment to this
country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less
than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to
the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the
debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive
at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold
to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at
such a time, through fear of giving offence, I should
consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and
of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which
I revere above all earthly kings.
-- Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.
@TEXT@
Mr. President, it is nachral to man to indulge in the
illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a
painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she
transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men,
engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we
disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see
not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly
concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever
anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the
whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.
-- Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.
@TEXT@
Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.
I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is
the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the
future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to
know what there has been in the conduct of the British
ministry for the last ten years to justify those hopes with
which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and
the House. Is it that incidious smile with which our
petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it
will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to
be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious
reception of our petition comports with those warlike
preparations which cover our waters and darken our land.
Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and
reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be
reconciled that force must be called in to win back our
love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the
implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to
which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this
martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to
submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive
for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the
world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and
armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us:
they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind
and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry
have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to
them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that
for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon
the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every
light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain.
Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What
terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted?
Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves. Sir, we
have done everything that could be done to avert the storm
which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have
remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated
ourselves before the throne, and have implored its
interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry
and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our
remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult;
our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been
spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne! In
vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of
peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for
hope. If we wish to be free- if we mean to preserve
inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have
been so long contending- if we mean not basely to abandon
the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged,
and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until
the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained- we
must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to
arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us!
@TEXT@
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so
formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger?
Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when
we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be
stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength but
irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of
effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and
hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies
shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if
we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature
hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in
the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that
which we possess, are invincible by any force which our
enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight
our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over
the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to
fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the
strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough
to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest.
There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our
chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the
plains of Boston! The war is inevitable- and let it come!
I repeat it, sir, let it come.
-- Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.
@TEXT@
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may
cry, Peace, Peace- but there is no peace. The war is
actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north
will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our
brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle?
What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is
life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the
price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I
know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me
liberty or give me death!
-- Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.
@TEXT@
A committee is a miniature assembly of one or more persons
that must meet together in order to transact business
and usually one of its members should be appointed its clerk.
Whatever is not agreed to by the majority of the members present
and voting at a meeting (at which a quorum consisting of a
majority of the members of the committee shall be present)
cannot form a part of its report. The minority may be permitted
to submit their views in writing also, either together
or each member separately, but their report can be presented
only with general consent or by an incidental motion to receive it.
The motion takes a second is undebatable, is amendable, requires a
majority, and is reconsiderable. The rules of the assembly,
as far as possible, shall apply in committee; but a
reconsideration of a vote shall be allowed, regardless of the time
elapsed, only when every member who voted with the majority is
present when the reconsideration is moved. A committee (except a
committee of the whole)) may appoint a subcommittee of its own
members, unless the assembly determines otherwise. When the
committee is through with the business assigned, a motion is made
for the committee to "rise" (which is equivalent to the motion
to adjourn). the chairman (or some member who is more familiar
with the subject) will make its report to the assembly, as the
committee decides. The committee ceases to exist as soon
as the assembly receives the report, if it is not a standing committee.
@TEXT@
A resolution always has one or more "Resolved" clauses, and it
may have one or more "Whereas" clauses, but there is no
rule requiring "Whereas" clauses. The "Whereas" clauses (sometimes
called the preamble) precede and present a rationale for the
"Resolved" clauses. Each clause is separated from the others by
a semicolon, and sometimes linking words, such as "and" and "therefore,
be it," making the total resolution read smoothly. The name of the
organization is sometimes included in the "Resolved" clause, preceded
by the word "by," immediately after the word "Resolved." Because
resolutions often express opinions, they are often printed, and when
a resolution is printed, the word "Resolved" is customarily italicized.
Provisions for printing or otherwise executing the resolution may
be included in the resolution itself.
@TEXT@
Lo! 'tis a gala night
Within the lonesome latter years!
An angel throng, bewinged, bedlight
In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre, to see
A play of hopes and fears,
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
The music of the spheres.
-- Edgar Allan Poe, "Ligeia"
@TEXT@
"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil!-prophet still, if bird or devil!--
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate, yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanged-
On this home by Horror haunted,-tell me truly, I implore-
Is there-IS there balm in Gilead?-tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."
-- Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven"
@TEXT@
The vibration of the pendulum was at right angles to my
length. I saw that the crescent was designed to cross the region
of the heart. It would fray the serge of my robe-it would
return and repeat its operations-again-and again. Notwithstanding
its terrifically wide sweep (some thirty feet or more),
and the hissing vigor of its descent, sufficient to sunder these
very walls of iron, still the fraying of my robe would be all that,
for several minutes, it would accomplish. And at this
thought I paused. I dared not go further than this reflection.
I dwelt upon it with a pertinacity of attention-as if, in so
myself to ponder upon the sound of the crescent as it should
which the friction of cloth produces on the nerves. I pondered upon
all this frivolity until my teeth were on edge.
- passage from "The Pit and the Pendulum", Edgar Allan Poe
@TEXT@
Eldorado
Gaily bedlight,
A gallant knight,
In sunshine and in shadow,
Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,
In search of Eldorado.
But he grew old-
This knight so bold-
And o'er his heart a shadow
Fell as he found
No spot of ground
That looked like Eldorado.
And, as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow-
"Shadow," said he,
"Where can it be-
This land of Eldorado?"
"Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shadow replied,-
"If you seek for Eldorado!"
-- Edgar Allan Poe
@TEXT@
Headline: Computer Obsession Reported
COPENHAGEN, Denmark - A teenager's obsession with computers
gave him a mechanical mentality that finally drove him to
a mental hospital with "computer syndrome," a Danish medical
journal said.
The unidentified 18-year-old became interested in computers
at the age of eight and spent most of his free time from the
age of 10 with his father's computer equipment, the Weekly
Journal for Doctors reported Tuesday.
He began to think and dream in computer language, the journal
said.
"For example, I could wake up in the night and think: Line 10,
go to the bathroom, line 11, go on, line 12, and son," he was
quoted as saying.
The teenager spent 12 to 16 hours a day at the computer, which
replaced his contacts with friends and finally dominated his
lift completely, the journal said.
The teenager spent 12 to 16 hours a day at the computer, which
replaced his contacts with friends and finally dominated his life
completely, the journal said.
"The preoccupation with the computer brought about a mechanical,
disillusioned mentality and inhibited his emotional development."
said the article, signed by three Danish doctors.
"It is possible to imagine that extended use of a computer can
give unfortunate consequences for psychologically weak people,"
although there has been no systematic study of the effect of
computers on mental development, it said.
-- Associated Press
@TEXT@
A Watch With Extras
In 1900, a watch was made by a French company and put on
display at the Paris Exposition that year. It was a fantastically
complicated timekeeper. Here's what this watch told you: the day,
date, and year for the whole twentieth century, the phases of the moon,
the seasons, solstices, and equinoxes, the positions of the
heavens for the Northern Hemisphere, the positions of the heavens
for the Southern Hemisphere, and the daily sunrise and sunset time in
Lisbon. This watch chimed every quarter-hour. It could work as
a stopwatch. It had a thermometer built in, as well as a barometer,
an altimeter, and a compass. And it told the time in hours and minutes
for 125 cities in the world. It took three years to make and weighed one
pound. Somehow it never caught on.
@TEXT@
The Flags of France
Some of the best-known flags in history come from France. The first
was the "Oriflamme", used up until the English defeated the French
at the battle of Agincourt in 1451 and recognizable because of its
unusual, many-tailed shape. Second were the many flags that used the
traditional emblem of France, the lily (fleur-de-lis). Just before
the revolution in 1789 the national flag was plain white, the color
of the reigning Bourbon kings; the military flags were still
decorated with lilies. The royal standard carried the royal arms
on a background of white with gold lilies all over it. But the most
famous French flag of all is the red, white, and blue flag called the
Tricolore, used during the revolution in 1789, and the familiar as a
symbol of liberty throughout the world. Its colors were adopted by
naval ships in 1790, with a red stripe placed at the hoist. The
Tricolore as we know it today was introduced in 1794 and, except for
a short time in the nineteenth century, has been in use ever since.
@TEXT@
The Twenty-Four-Hour Clock
How come there are only twelve hours marked on clocks and
watches when there are twenty-four hours in the day? Why don't
the hours get numbered past twelve? Then there wouldn't be
any need for an a.m. or p.m. to make sure that the time is correctly
understood.
That's another of those time habits that started a long time ago
and stuck. But a twenty-four-hour system is used in some countries
to say the time, even with twelve-hour clock faces. The military
uses it too. Here's how this system works.
The hours are numbered from 0:00 to 23:59. Midnight is zero hour.
After 12 noon, which is 12:00, comes 13:00. It's said in hundreds, like
thirteen hundred. By this system, you get out of school around
fifteen hundred hours. And you eat dinner around eighteen hundred.
How would you say the time that you usually go to bed at night? Does
twenty-three hundred sound appropriate?
@TEXT@
Gravity
Force is something we "feel." We are conscious of being pulled
downward, toward the Earth, from the day we are born (and even before
we are conscious of it). We call this the force of gravity.
Very small babies love dropping objects over the edges of their high
chairs. They don't know it, but they are seeing examples of gravity
at work.
Without gravity, all loose objects would float away from the Earth.
In outer space, there is very little gravity, and all objects appear
to float freely. Astronauts in outer space are aware that there is
no longer a feeling of "up" or "down". We use the force of gravity
in all kinds of ways. Gravity gives us our sense of what is "vertical" -
at right angles to the surface of the Earth. When we hang a weight
at the end of a string we know that the strings hangs vertically. This
is used to help us build houses with vertical walls that will not topple
over.
Engineering is the art of using the natural forces and materials
in the universe, such as the force of gravity, to make our lives better.
An engineer tries to invent new devices, new processes and new ways
of thinking about things, always with a view to doing them more profitably.
@TEXT@
Erosion by Groundwater
When rain water seeps into the ground it is called groundwater. At
a certain depth the soil and the rocks are thoroughly soaked. The
top surface of this so-called "saturated zone" is called the water
table. When the saturated zone and the water table reach the
surface, as on a hillside, the water flows out in the form of a
spring. In limestone areas, the minerals in the rock are dissolved
in the weak acid of the rainwater. As a result the water hollows
out caves and passages, especially along the level of the water table.
Columns of limestone salts known as stalactites and stalagmites form
in the caves. These are made of limestone minerals deposited from
groundwater that drips from the cave roof. When the water table
drops for any reason, a new cave system forms, leaving the original
caves dry and empty.
@TEXT@
Seas And Oceans
By far the greatest part of the Earth's surface - about 70% - is covered
with water. If all the land areas on Earth were smoothed down to an even
height, the entire globe would be covered by a layer of water averaging
2,500 meters (8,200 ft) deep. More than any other feature on Earth,
the oceans make it unique from all the other planets in the Solar
System.
In reality there is one limitless ocean circling the Earth, but
geographers have divided this into separate regions. By far the
greatest ocean is the Pacific, which covers nearly a third of the
Earth's surface. The Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean combined
occupy another third. Much of the Arctic Ocean, at the Earth's North
pole, is permanently covered with a thick cap of ice.
Beneath the oceans there is a "landscape" of mountain ranges,
deep gorges, plains and volcanos. Sometimes these mountains are tall
enough to break the surface, forming mid-ocean islands, such as
Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean, or the Hawaiian Islands in the
Pacific. Often these islands are the tips of volcanoes thrust up from
the ocean bed.
Without this vast quantity of water, life would not be able to
exist on Earth. The oceans are the source of all rainfall, and their
currents help to circulate the heat of the Sun, keeping the planet at
a moderate, fairly even temperature.
@TEXT@
The Atmosphere
The Earth is blanketed by a thin envelope of gases we call
the atmosphere. It protects the Earth from the fierce heat of the Sun
during the day and prevents heat escaping into space by night.
The atmosphere consists mainly of the gases nitrogen and oxygen, but
it also carries water vapor to all parts of the Earth.
Although it consists of gasses, the atmosphere has weight and is
held to the Earth by the pull of gravity. About 90% of all the
atmosphere is contained in a layer between 8 to 16 kilometers (5 to
10 miles) thick called the troposphere. It is in this zone that all
forms of life occur and almost all weather effects take place. At a
height of about 400 kb (250 miles) the atmosphere fades away into
the emptiness of space.
Weather and the climatic regions of the world are the result
of movements of currents of air within the atmosphere. The powerhouse
of these movements is the Sun. The Sun heats up the land and the
ocean, and they in turn warm the air above them. But this heating
effect is not evenly spread over the whole globe, so areas of warm
and cold air are produced. The warm air rises and cold air floods
in to fill its place, creating global wind patterns known as
prevailing winds. These carry water evaporated from the sea
which may fall as rain on continents thousands of kilometers away.
@TEXT@
Plennie L. Wingo of Abilene, Texas, was a well-known long-distance
walker with an odd habit. He walked "backwards". On April 15, 1931,
Wingo set out on a transcontinental backwards walk, leaving Santa Monica,
California, and walking 8,000 miles to Istanbul, Turkey, where he
arrived on October 24, 1932. At the spry age of 81 back in 1976,
Wingo celebrated the 45th anniversary of his marathon walk by
tackling the 452 miles between Santa Monica and San Francisco in
85 days, also backwards. In all his reverse walks, Wingo used
special mirrored glasses to see where he was going.
@TEXT@
The Anatomy of a Flag
Flags come in all shapes and sizes. Usually they consist of a piece
of free-flying fabric attached to a rigid vertical staff, but they
may also be hung from horizontal bars. Flags may be flown from
flagpoles or the halyards of sailing ships, carried on staves or
spears, fixed on pins for table stands, or hung from spars at
45 degrees to the vertical (known as gaffs). Most modern flags are
made from polyester. Many different fabrics have been used in the
past, including silk, taffeta, cotton, linen, and wool. The designs
may be built up by sewing together material of different colors,
or they may be printed. In the past, elaborate designs were often
painted or embroidered onto the surface of the flag, and these
methods are sometimes still used today. Since the 17th century most
of the flags used at sea have been rectangular, and this is now
the standard form for use on land. Some flags flown by yachts are
swallow-tailed or triangular, and heraldic banners are squarish.
Flags had more varied shapes in earlier times than they do today.
Notable were the gonfanon, with its squared tails, the schwenkel,
with its extended top strip, and the Roman vexillum.
@TEXT@
The United States of America Flag
The "Stars and Stripes" is the best-known flag in the world, but
little is known for sure about its origin. It was not designed by
one person but evolved gradually. Its first form was the Cambridge
(or Grand Union) Flag of the winter of 1775-1776, which had
thirteen stripes and the British Union Flag in the canton. In 1777
it was decided to replace the Union Flag with the blue canton and
13 stars. It is not certain exactly how the stars were first
arranged - the law of 1777 refers simply to the 13 stars' representing
a "new constellation" - and many different designs were made. There
is a legend that Betsy Ross of Philadelphia made the first flag
and presented it to George Washington, but it is more likely that
Francis Hopkinson (the creator of the seal of the USA) had a hand in
the design. After the Revolutionary War each star and each stripe
were considered to represent a state, but later it was decided to
increase only the number of stars when a new state joined the Union.
@TEXT@
The United Kingdom Flag
Since the thirteenth century, the English have flown a flag bearing
the red cross of St. George, the country's patron saint. This was
the flag behind which they rode into battle on the crusades against
the Moslems (12th and 13th centuries), although they also carried
flags bearing the English royal arms. At about the same time the
Scottish adopted as their flag the saltire cross of St. Andrew, a
white cross on a blue background. After the two kingdoms were united
in 1603, these two crosses were combined to produce one of the most
striking flag designs - the Union Flag. When Ireland came under direct
British rule in 1800, the red cross of St. Patrick was incorporated
into the design to produce the flag we know today. The fourth country
of the United Kingdom, Wales, is not represented in the Union Flag; the
Welsh have their own flag, which bears a red dragon on a white and
green field.
@TEXT@
Australia
The Southern Cross, a bright constellation visible from the Southern
Hemisphere that has been used for centuries by sailors as a navigational
aid, has been a major theme in Australian symbolism since the early
nineteenth century. The first flag to carry the four stars of the
Southern Cross was the National Colonial Flag of 1823-24, which placed
them on the red cross of the British White Ensign. in 1831 the New
South Wales ensign appeared, very similar to the Commonwealth flag but
with stars of eight points. In due course this became the "Federation"
flag. In 1854 the Eureka Stockade flag appeared, and there were several
other adaptations of the emblem, including the ensign badge of
Victoria (1870). So it is not surprising that the Southern Cross
figured in the design which won the competition for a flag after
Australia became a federal dominion in 1901. The resulting flag
consisted of the Southern Cross on a blue field, with the Union Jack
in the canton, The stars are not quite the same as those in the flag
of Victoria, and their varying numbers of points indicate the brilliance
of the actual start. The flag also had a large star of six points, standing
for the six states. This was changed to a seven-pointed star in 1908, so
that the Northern Territory of Australia was also represented.
@TEXT@
The word "volcano" comes from the little island of Vulcano in the
Mediterranean Sea off Sicily. Centuries ago, the people living in
this area believed that Vulcano was the chimney of the forge
of Vulcan-the blacksmith of the Roman gods. They thought that
the hot lava fragments and clouds of dust erupting from Vulcano
came from Vulcan's forge. Today, we know that volcanic eruptions
are not supernatural but can be studied and interpreted by scientists.
Geologists generally group volcanos into four main kinds: Cinder cones,
Composite Volcanos, Shield Volcanos, and Lava Domes.
Cinder Cones are the simples type of volcano and are built from particles
and blobs of congealed lava ejected from a single vent.
Most composite volcanoes have a crater at the summit which contains
a central vent or a clustered group of vents. Shield volcanos, are built
almost entirely of fluid lava flows. Flow after flow pours out in all
directions from a central summit vent, or group of vents. Lava domes are
formed by relatively small, bulbous masses of lava too viscous to
flow any great distance; consequently, on extrusion, the lava piles
over and around its vent.
@TEXT@
Weight-Lifting and Isometrics
In contrast to aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise, that is, "without
oxygen", includes exercises such as weight-lifting and isometrics.
These exercises, while building strength and muscle tone, actually
impair blood flow through the muscles. This happens because one is
building up tension in the muscles against heavy resistance, as in
the case of weight-lifting.
Since the blood flow to these muscles is impaired during anaerobic
exercise, fatigue sets in rapidly, and the exercise cannot be kept
up for too long a time. There is a relatively low caloric expenditure
in this type of exercise, and there are no cardiovascular benefits
as in aerobic exercise. In fact, anaerobic exercise can increase
both blood pressure and heart rate because of the body's reflex
response to this impaired blood flow. Therefore, this kind of
exercise is potentially dangerous, especially for those with a history
of high blood pressure or other cardiovascular problems.
The American Council on Science and Health recommends participation in
aerobic and anaerobic exercise only after a person's physical
fitness capacity has been evaluated by a physician.
@TEXT@
Helpful Hints for the Interview
A job interview is your showcase for merchandising your talents.
During the interview an employer judges your qualifications,
appearance, and general fitness for the job opening. It is your
opportunity to convince the employer that you can make a real
contribution.
Equally important, it gives you a chance to appraise the job,
the employer, and the firm. It enables you to decide if the job
meets your career needs and interests and whether the employer is of
the type and caliber you want to work for.
Before each interview, though, you should assume that the job you
are applying for is precisely the one you want-because it may be.
To present your qualifications most advantageously, you will need to
prepare in advance. You should have the needed papers ready and
the necessary information about yourself firmly in mind; and you
should know how to act at the interview to make it an effective
device for selling your skills.
Assemble all the papers that you may need. The main item will be
your background and work experience inventory. It contains all the
facts and figures you could possibly be asked - either in filling
in the job application form, or in the job interview. Don't forget
you may have already submitted one. Take your social security card,
recent school records, military separation papers, and union card
if you have one. If your work is the sort you can show in an interview
(such as artwork, publications, or procedures) take along a few samples.
Be careful not to leave your only copy of something after the interview
is over, it could get lost.
Finally, when the interview is over, thank the employer for giving you
his or her time. If the firm cannot use you, ask about other employers
who may need a person with your qualifications.
@TEXT@
Astronomical Terms
"Planet" is the term used for a body in orbit around the Sun. Its
origin is Greek; even in antiquity it was known that a number of
"stars" did not stay in the same relative positions to the others.
There were five such restless "stars" known-Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn-and the Greeks referred to them as PLANETS, a
word which means "wanderers". That the earth is one of the planets
was realized later. The additional planets were discovered after the
invention of the telescope.
"Satellite" (or MOON) is the term for a body in orbit around a planet.
As long as our own Mood was the only moon known, there was no need for
a general term for the moons of planets. But when Galileo Galilei
discovered the four main moons of the planet Jupiter, Johannes Kepler
(in a letter to Galileo) suggested "satellite" (from the Latin
satellites, which means attendant) as a general term for such bodies.
The word is used interchangeably with "moons"; astronomers speak and
write about the moons of Neptune, Saturn, etc. A satellite may be
any size
"Orbit" is the term for the path traveled by a body in space. It comes
from the Latin orbis, which means circle, circuit, etc., and orbita,
which means a rut or a wheel track. Theoretically, four mathematical
figures are possible orbits: two are open (hyperbola and parabola)
and two are closed (ellipse and circle), but in reality all closed
orbits are ellipses. These ellipses can be nearly circular, as are the
orbits of most planets. in these orbits, the Sun is in one focal
point of the ellipse, and the other focal point is empty. In the
orbits of satellites, the planet stands in one focal point of
the orbit. The PRIMARY of an orbit is the body in the focal point.
For planets, the point of the orbit closest to the Sun is the perihelion.
and the point farthest from the Sun is the aphelion. For orbits around
the Earth, the corresponding terms are perigee and apogee; for orbits
around other planets, corresponding terms are coined where necessary.