cratology
n.— «The moment of truth for cratology came on October 10, when the first photographs of IL-28 crates en route to Cuba reached headquarters. Taken on September 28, these showed the Soviet ship Kasimov carrying ten crates which could only be for IL-28 bombers…. On the heels of persistent reports pointing to Medium Range Ballistic Missiles on the island, they led to the October 14 flight of the U-2, which brought back the first photos of ballistic missile installations.» —“Cratology Pays Off” by Thaxter L. Goodell Studies in Intelligence Fall, 1964. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)