Rhea

rhea

either of two large fast-running flightless birds, Rhea americana or Pterocnemia pennata, inhabiting the open plains of S South America: order Rheiformes (see ratite). They are similar to but smaller than the ostrich, having three-toed feet and a completely feathered body

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Rhea

(ree -ă) The second largest of the Saturn system of satellites, discovered in 1672 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini. It has a diameter of 1530 km and a density of 1.33 g cm^–3. The low density indicates that Rhea is composed of a rocky core making up about a third of the satellite's mass surrounded by water ice. The northern hemisphere is particularly heavily cratered and resembles the rolling cratered highlands of the Moon. The crater density on the surface is irregular and suggests a varied geological history. The craters vary in size up to 75 km, the most prominent of which is Izanagi. The leading edge of Rhea as it moves in its orbit is brighter than the trailing edge, which contains bright wispy markings. The Cassini/Huygens spacecraft flew by Rhea in November 2005 at a distance of 500 km and was scheduled to make a second, much more distant, flyby in August 2007. See also Table 2, backmatter.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

rhea

[′rē·ə]

(botany)

ramie

(vertebrate zoology)

The common name for members of the avian order Rheiformes.

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Rhea

[′rē·ə]

(astronomy)

A satellite of Saturn, with estimated diameter of 450 miles (1530 kilometers).

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Rhea

worshiped orgy and fertility; mother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia. [Gk. Myth.: NCE, 1796]

See: Fertility

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Rhea

often titled Great Mother of the Gods. [Gk. Myth.: NCE, 1796]

See: Motherhood

Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Rhea

 

in ancient Greek mythology, a Titan. Rhea was the daughter of Uranus and Gaea, the wife of Cronus, and the mother of Zeus, Demeter, and other Olympian gods.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.