A terminator, twilight zone or "grey line" is a moving line that separates the illuminated day side and the dark night side of a planetary body. A terminator is defined as the locus of points on a Moon or planet where the line through a Sun is tangent.

The Earth's terminator[link]

Video of the Earth from the ISS as it approaches the terminator.

On Earth, the terminator is a circular line with a diameter that is approximately that of the Earth. The terminator passes through any point on the Earth's surface twice a day, once at sunrise and once at sunset, apart from polar regions where this only occurs when the point is not experiencing midnight sun or polar night. The line separates the portions of the Earth experiencing daylight from the portion of the planet experiencing darkness. While one half of the Earth is illuminated at any point in time (with exceptions during eclipses), the location of the terminator line varies by time of day due to the rotation of the Earth on its axis as well as the revolution of the Earth around the Sun. The terminator line also varies by time of year: on Earth the angle of the line is almost parallel to lines of longitude during the equinoxes, and at its maximum angle of approximately 23.5 degrees during the solstices.^[1]

At the equator, under flat conditions (no obstructions such as mountains; or at a height above any such obstructions), the terminator line moves at approximately 1600 kilometers per hour (1000 miles per hour). This speed can appear to be increased when near obstructions—such as the height of a mountain, for example—as the shadow of the obstruction will be broadcast over the ground in advance of the terminator line along a flat landscape. The speed of the terminator line decreases as one approaches the poles, where it can reach a speed of zero (full-day sunlight or darkness).^[2]

Supersonic aircraft like jet fighters or Concorde and Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic transports are the only aircraft able to overtake the maximum speed of the terminator. However, slower vehicles can overtake the terminator at higher latitudes and it is possible to walk faster than the terminator at the poles, near to the equinoxes. The visual effect is that of seeing the Sun rise in the west.

Amateur radio operators take advantage of conditions at the terminator (so-called "grey line" conditions) to perform long distance communications. Under good conditions, radio waves can travel along the terminator to antipodal points. This is primarily because the D layer, which absorbs High frequency signals, disappears rapidly on the dark side of the terminator line. This process is known as skywave propagation.^[3]

Scientific significance[link]

Examination of a terminator can yield information about the surface of a planetary body; for example, the presence of an atmosphere can create a fuzzier terminator. As the particles within an atmosphere are at a higher elevation, the light source can remain visible even after it has set at ground level. These particles scatter the light, reflecting some of it to the ground. Hence, the sky can remain illuminated even after the Sun has set.

Low Earth orbit satellites take advantage of the fact that certain polar orbits set near the terminator do not suffer from eclipse, therefore their solar cells are continuously lit by sunlight. Such orbits are called dawn-dusk orbits, a type of Sun-synchronous orbit. This prolongs the operational life of a LEO satellite, as onboard battery life is prolonged. It also enables specific experiments that require the minimum influence of the Sun, as the designers can opt to install the relevant sensors on the dark side of the satellite.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Terminator

• Current terminator
• aa.usno.navy.mil - Website calculating synthetic images (B&W or color) representing the terminator for a given time (date & hour)

v t e Parts of a day Dawn · Twilight–Sunrise · Morning · Daylight · Evening · Sunset–Twilight–Dusk · Night Related articles: Blue hour · Golden hour · Terminator · Forenoon · Noon · Afternoon · Midnight · Daytime · Midnight sun

Terminator may refer to:

• Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription
• The lunar terminator

Technology[link]

• Terminator (electrical), a resistor at the end of a transmission line to prevent signal reflection
• Terminator Technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation seeds to be sterile
• Microsoft Terminator, a program analyzer research project
• Terminator (terminal emulator), a cross-platform GPL terminal emulator
• Terminator (video game system), a gaming console that emulated the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System

Entertainment[link]

Movies and television[link]

• Terminator (franchise), a series of science fiction films and derivative works
  • The Terminator, a 1984 film by James Cameron
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a 1991 film
  • Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, a 2003 film
  • Terminator Salvation, a 2009 film
  • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, an American television series
  • Terminator (character concept), a fictional class of autonomous robots in the series
    • Terminator (character), the most famous of the cyborgs, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger
• Terminator II (1990 film) (also known as Shocking Dark, Alienators and Contaminator), an unofficial sequel to the original Terminator film by Bruno Mattei
• The Terminators (film), a mockbuster

Music[link]

• The Terminator (soundtrack), for the 1984 film
• Terminator (1988), song by metal band Powermad
• Terminator (1992 track), darkcore track by Goldie

Games[link]

• Terminator (Warhammer 40,000), a type of Space Marine in the Warhammer 40,000 setting

Video games[link]

• The Terminator (DOS), 1990 game for DOS
• The Terminator (NES), 1992 game for the NES
• The Terminator (Virgin video game), 1992 game for the Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear and Sega CD
• The Terminator 2029, 1992 game for DOS
  • The Terminator 2029: Operation Scour, 1993 expansion pack for The Terminator 2029
• The Terminator: Rampage, 1993 game for DOS
• The Terminator (SNES), 1993 game for the SNES
• The Terminator: Future Shock, 1995 game for DOS
• SkyNET, 1996 game for DOS
• The Terminator: Dawn of Fate, 2002 game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox
• The Terminator (mobile game), 2003 game for mobile phones
• The Terminator: I'm Back!, 2004 sequel for mobile phones
• Terminator Salvation (video game), 2009 game for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

Fiction[link]

• Terminator (DC Comics) or Deathstroke, a DC comic book supervillain
• Terminator (Marvel Comics), a Space Knight character in Marvel Comics

People[link]

• Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese militia leader also known as "the Terminator"
• Anatoly Onoprienko or The Terminator, a Ukrainian serial killer
• The Terminator (wrestler) or Marcus Laurinaitis, American professional wrestler
• Arbi Barayev, by nickname
• Nikki Terminator, assistant of magician Rudy Coby
• Niels Feijen, professional pool player nicknamed "The Terminator"

Other uses[link]

• Terminator, a cryptonym for the 2003-2004 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra pony car
• Nike Terminator, a high-top shoe by Nike

See also[link]

• Termination (disambiguation)
• Terminonatator, a plesiosaur genus
• Terminus (disambiguation)
• All pages beginning with "Terminator"
• All pages with titles containing "Terminator"

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Look up solar in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Solar may refer to:

Astronomy

• Of or relating to the Sun
  • A device that utilizes solar energy
  • Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun
• Solar Maximum Mission, a satellite
• Solar Monitoring Observatory, a spacecraft

Other uses

• Solar (album), an album by Taeyang
• Solar (comics)
• "Solar" (composition), attributed to Miles Davis
• Solar (novel), by Ian McEwan
• Solar (room), a place in many medieval homes
• Solar, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
• Solar, Erode, India
• Solar Entertainment Corporation, the Philippines media company
• Solar TV, a former TV channel
• Solar TV Network, the television subsidiary in the Philippines
• Solar News, the news division of Solar TV Network in the Philippines
• SOLAR Records, a record label
• Solar Turbines, a gas turbine company
• USS Solar (DE-221), a ship
• Xul Solar (1887–1963), Argentine artist

See also[link]

• Solar One (disambiguation)
• Sol (disambiguation)
• Solari (disambiguation)
• Solaris (disambiguation)
• Solarisation (disambiguation)
• Solarius (disambiguation)
• Solaar

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2008)

Terminator X is the stage name of Norman Rogers (born August 25, 1966), a retired American DJ best known for his work with rap group Public Enemy, which he left in 1999. He also produced two solo albums, Terminator X & The Valley of Jeep Beats (1991) and Super Bad (1994), featuring Chuck D, Sister Souljah, Kool DJ Herc, the Cold Crush Brothers, and a bass music track by the Punk Barbarians.

Since retiring from the music scene in 2003, Rogers has been running an ostrich stud farm in North Carolina.^{[1] [2]} However, in 2010, Terminator X returned to the recording studio. Set for release in 2011, the album, Judgement Day, is said to be "a tribute to the five elements of hip-hop, which include B-boying, graffiti, rapping, DJ’ing and knowledge."^[3]

Albums[link]

• Terminator X & The Valley of Jeep Beats (1991)
• Super Bad (1994)
• Judgment Day (2011)

References[link]