Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
fishing led to a major spread of Mesolithic culture around the coasts of
the British Isles.
MoD UK's Ministry of Defense.
Monolith A single stone.
MSC The Manpower Services Commission, part of the UK Department
of Employment, set up in 1973 to promote employment-related educa-
tion and training, done away with in 1987.
NALGO The National and Local Government Officers' Association,
trade union for Glasgow Parks Department employees in the late 1970s,
when it was largest trade union in the UK with over 700,000 members.
NALGO was one of three unions that merged to form UNISON in 1993.
Neanderthal Form of humans whose last common ancestor with homo sapi-
ens was c.1,000,000 years before present. Driven out of Britain by advanc-
ing ice around 360,000 years ago, contemporary with modern humans in
Europe around 100,000 years ago, re-entered Britain around 80,000 years
ago, coexisted with modern humans until they became extinct 36,000 to
24,000 years ago.
Neolithic The New Stone Age, the period following the Paleolithic Old
Stone Age and intermediate Mesolithic period, q.v., and preceding the
Bronze Age.
Nodes The two points where two great circles intersect on the celestial
sphere. The nodes of the ecliptic and Earth's equatorial plane mark the
positions of the Sun at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes; the ascend-
ing and descending nodes of the Moon's orbit mark the points where the
Moon crosses the ecliptic going north or south, respectively. Eclipses can
only occur when the new Moon or full Moon are near the lunar nodes.
Obliquity of the Ecliptic Another name for the tilt of Earth's axis, rela-
tive to the perpendicular of the plane of its orbit around the Sun. The
obliquity varies between 24° and 22° with a period of about 41,000 years
and has decreased by approximately half a degree since Neolithic times.
Orrery A model displaying the workings of the Solar System, named
after the Irish earl who commissioned the first known example in 1704.
Parallax The effect of perspective that changes the apparent position
of an object, relative to more distant objects. On the celestial sphere the
effect is greatest at the horizon (horizontal parallax), and although neg-
ligible for the Sun and stars, it markedly changes the apparent position
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