Science Fiction
In "The Three-Body Problem", the Trisolarans have 3 of these near their world & it's bad for them, so they're coming here
stars/suns
The monkey puzzle tree has its roots in this dino period 200 million years ago
Jurassic
Found in meteorites, ores of this metal include siderite, goethite & magnetite
Iron
Arithmetic comes from the Greek "arithmos", which means these
numbers
Saba, a Dutch island in the Lesser Antilles, offers a quick dip in this sea if the pilot can't stay on the very short runway
the Caribbean
NASA scientists helped with the sci-fi thriller "Europa Report", about a chilling journey to a moon of this planet
Jupiter
Honey bees fill small baskets of specialized hairs on their hind legs with this powder
Pollen
The red, sometimes transparent crystals of cuprite are an ore of this metal
Copper
Term for an integer that is not divisible by 2 into whole numbers
odd
A truncation of the materials used to make it, this 6-letter trademark is another term for the runway
tarmac
A 1962 Brian Aldiss sci-fi work about a warming Earth isn't called "Greenhouse" but this similar structure
hothouse
Biologists prefer "transitional form" instead of this 2-word term for an intermediate species connecting, say, humans & apes
missing link
Incorporated in 1875, Carson City served as a processing center primarily for this metal's ore
Silver
The odds against throwing a 5 with one die
5:1
Nothing to do with football, the TDZ is short for this zone on the runway; special lights mark it for pilots
touchdown (zone)
Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with" this isn't about a Hindu god but rather a spooky craft that's entered our galaxy
Rama
This spiny, globular "sea" creature has an apparatus called Aristotle's lantern that lets it scrape algae from rocks & munch away
About 6% of the ore mined for this mineral contains usable fibers
Asbestos
The square root of 85 lies between these 2 whole numbers
9 & 10
When this 9-letter phenomenon blows in a direction not aligned with the runway, pilots use special techniques to land
crosswind
Earth & Mars are factions in "The Expanse", as are Belters, many of whom live on this largest rock in our asteroid belt
Ceres
The nictitating membrane on a crocodile that helps it see underwater is often called the third this
eyelid
Until WWII this ore was used only as a source for radium; then it became a source of uranium, too
Pitchblende
These 2 things are considered the "terms" of a fraction
Numerator & denominator
To simulate aircraft carrier landings, military pilots practice what's called this & this, involving brief runway contact
touch & go