Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun arcsecant
  • noun Abbreviation of arcsecond.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the inverse function of the secant; the angle that has a secant equal to a given number

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Through a telescope, its phase changes between 28% and 76% sunlit as its diameter shrinks from 8.5 to 5.9 arcsec.

    Starwatch: Mercury in view 2011

  • Jupiter's disc is 47 arcsec wide when the planet lies alongside the Moon on the night of the 16th.

    Starwatch: the September night sky 2011

  • During February, it brightens from mag -4.1 to -4.2 and its gibbous disc swells from 15 to 18 arcsec.

    Starwatch: The February night sky 2012

  • At opposition, Jupiter is 594 million km distant and shows a cloud-banded 50 arcsec disc through almost any telescope.

    Starwatch: The October night sky 2011

  • Moving westwards below Leo's rear, it brightens from mag -0.6 to -1.2 and improves from 12 to 14 arcsec in diameter.

    Starwatch: The February night sky 2012

  • Its cloud-banded disc is 37 arcsec wide at mid-month.

    Starwatch: The February night sky 2012

  • Mars, slow-moving below Leo's hindquarters, doubles in brightness from mag 0.2 to -0.6 as its distance plummets from 156 million to 119 million km and its diameter swells to 12 arcsec.

    Starwatch: The January night sky 2011

  • Fading from mag -2.6 to -2.4 and shrinking in diameter from 43 to 39 arcsec during the month, it is conspicuous near the Moon on the 2nd and again on the 30th.

    Starwatch: The January night sky 2011

  • Catch it 6° below-left of the earthlit crescent Moon on the 26th when its gibbous disc is 15 arcsec across.

    Starwatch: The January night sky 2011

  • Look for the Moon below Saturn and alongside Spica on the 14th when a telescope shows the planet's disc and rings to be 19 and 42 arcsec wide respectively.

    Starwatch: The May night sky 2011

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