Janus

Janus

Janus , in astronomy, one of the named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn . Also known as Saturn X (or S10), Janus is an irregularly shaped (nonspherical) body measuring about 122 mi (196 km) by 119 mi (192 km) by 93 mi (150 km); it orbits Saturn at a mean distance of 94,120 mi (151,472 km), and has equal orbital and rotational periods of 0.6945 earth days. The French astronomer Audouin Dollfus is credited with the discovery of Janus in 1966. However, in 1978, the American astronomers Stephen M. Larson and John W. Fountain determined that there were two moons orbiting Saturn at a distance of about 94,000 mi, and it was not until 1980 that the Voyager 1 space probe provided sufficient data to enable Janus to be distinguished from Epimetheus ; today it is difficult to say which one Dollfus really discovered. Janus and Epimetheus are co-orbital, that is, they share the same average orbit; about every fourth year—at closest approach—the lower, faster satellite overtakes the other, they exchange angular momentum, and the lower one is boosted into a higher orbit while the higher one drops to the lower orbit. The two moons may have formed from the disruption of a single satellite early in the formation of Saturn's satellite system. Janus's surface is extensively cratered, with several larger than 18 mi (30 km); however, there are few linear features.

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Janus

Janus (1955), a comedy by Carolyn Green. [Plymouth Theatre, 251 perf.] Every summer Jessica ( Margaret Sullavan) and Denny ( Claude Dauphin) go off to an apartment in Washington Square, where they write novels under the pen name Janus. Jessica and Denny are married, but not to each other. Even their spouses don't know where they go and what they do. But this particular summer their idyll is interrupted successively by their aggressive agent ( Mary Finney), Jessica's husband ( Robert Preston), and the tax man ( Richard Emhardt). It is some time before matters are cleared up and they can return to their writing. A delightful escapist comedy of what even in 1955 was becoming an old school, the Alfred de Liagre Jr. production did good business to no small extent because of its fine performers.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Janus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Janus." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-Janus.html

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Janus

Janus

Janus was the Roman god of beginnings, gates, and doorways. He was associated with the start of day and the first month of the year, called January after him. The Romans mentioned Janus first when including a list of gods in their prayers, and they named the Janiculum, one of the seven hills of Rome, in his honor.

Like a doorway that can be entered from two directions, Janus was usually pictured with two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. The temple to Janus in the Roman Forum had two sets of doors facing east and west. These doors were open during a war and closed in periods of peace.

Janus appears in one myth as the defender of an important Roman gateway When the city was under attack by a tribe known as the Sabines, Janus flooded the gate with a hot spring to prevent the invaders from entering the city. In another story, Janus used his two faces while pursuing a lover. The goddess Cardea was known for leading her admirers to a cave and then running away. When Janus accompanied her to the cave, he saw with the face in the back of his head that she was turning to leave and caught hold of her before she could escape.

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"Janus." Myths and Legends of the World. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Janus

Janus jā´nəs , in Roman religion, god of beginnings. He was one of the principal Roman gods, the custodian of the universe. The first hour of the day, the first day of the month, the first month of the year (which bears his name) were sacred to him. His chief function was as guardian deity of gates and doors. The gates of his temple in the Roman Forum were closed in time of peace and opened in time of war. Janus was usually represented with two bearded heads placed back to back so that he might look in two directions at the same time. His principal festival was celebrated on the first day of the year.

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Janus

Janus in Roman mythology, an ancient Italian deity, guardian of doorways and gates and protector of the state in time of war; he is usually represented with two faces, so that he looks both forwards and backwards. In ancient Rome the doors of the shrine of Janus in the Forum were closed in times of peace; according to Livy between the time of Numa and his own day, this happened only twice, once after the First Punic War (241 bc) and after Octavian's victory at Actium (31 bc).

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Janus." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Janus

Janus A satellite of Saturn, in virtually the same orbit as Epimetheus between the F and G Rings (the tenuous rings outside the A Ring), at a mean distance of 151 500 km; also known as Saturn X. Its mean orbital period is 0.695 days. Janus was discovered in 1966 by the French astronomer Audouin Charles Dollfus (1924– ). It is an irregular body, 194 × 190 × 154 km in size.

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"Janus." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Janus

Janus (Saturn X) One of the lesser satellites of Saturn, with a radius measuring 99.3 × 95.6 × 75.6 km; mass 0.0198 × 1020 kg; mean density 650 kg/m3; visual albedo 0.8. It was discovered in 1966 by A. Dolfus, Gerard Kuiper, J. Fountain, and S. Larsen.

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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Janus." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Janus." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-Janus.html

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Janus

Janus. The pseudonym over which J. J. I. von Döllinger and others in 1869 published a series of letters attacking the Syllabus Errorum.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Janus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Janus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-Janus.html

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Janus

Janus •pandanus •badness, madness, sadness •Magnus • aptness •fatness, patness •redness • wetness •anus, Coriolanus, heinous, Janus, Punta Arenas, Silvanusgenus, intravenous, Maecenas, Malvinas, Salinas, venous, Venus •Cygnus • proteinous • ruinous •libidinous •multitudinous, platitudinous, pulchritudinous, vicissitudinous •cartilaginous, farraginous, oleaginous •fuliginous, indigenous, oxygenous, polygynous, rubiginous, vertiginous •androgynous, autogenous, endogenous, erogenous, exogenous, homogenous, hydrogenous, misogynous •ferruginous • ominous •bituminous, leguminous, luminous, numinous, voluminous •conterminous, coterminous, terminus, verminous •larcenous • gelatinous • cretinous •mountainous •glutinous, mutinous •resinous •Aquinas, Delphinus, echinus, Linus, Longinus, minus, Plotinus, sinus, vinous •oddness • wanness • hotness •Faunus, rawness •Kaunas •bonus, Cronus, Jonas, lowness, onus, Tithonus •oldness •newness, twoness •fulness •alumnus, rumness •oneness • Oceanus • Eridanus •diaphanous • polyphonous •cacophonous, homophonous •porcellanous • villainous •membranous • tyrannous •synchronous • Uranus • tetanus •monotonous • gluttonous •cavernous, ravenous •treasonous • poisonous • Avernus

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"Janus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Janus: Down but far from out.
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