Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A telescope equipped to measure small angular distances between celestial bodies or the angular sizes of celestial bodies.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An astronomical instrument, consisting of a telescope having its objective sawed across in a plane passing through the optical axis, and each part arranged to move by sliding past the other, its exact position being shown by a micrometerscrew.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Astron.) An instrument devised originally for measuring the diameter of the sun; now employed for delicate measurements of the distance and relative direction of two stars too far apart to be easily measured in the field of view of an ordinary telescope.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
astronomical instrument , based on atelescope , formeasuring thediameter of thesun ; now used to measure theangular distance betweenstars and othercelestial bodies .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an instrument used to measure the angular separation of two stars that are too far apart to be included in the field of view of an ordinary telescope
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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A heliometer is the most accurate astronomical instrument for relative measurements of position, as a transit circle is the most accurate for absolute determinations.
Pioneers of Science Oliver Lodge 1895
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But there is one instrument of great value, the heliometer, which is not used at Greenwich.
History of Astronomy George Forbes 1892
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[20] The heliometer is a telescope with its object-glass cut in half along a diameter.
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Joseph Fraunhofer perfected the refracting telescope, as Herschel had perfected the reflector, and invented a wonderfully accurate "heliometer," or sun-measurer.
A History of Science: in Five Volumes. Volume III: Modern development of the physical sciences 1904
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Thus, from 606 measures of Venus on the sun, taken with a new kind of heliometer at
A Popular History of Astronomy During the Nineteenth Century Fourth Edition 1874
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Dr. Elkin's work with the Repsold heliometer at Yale College.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 623, December 10, 1887 Various
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Munich, who constructed a magnificent heliometer for the Observatory at
The Astronomy of Milton's 'Paradise Lost' Thomas Nathaniel Orchard
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The heliometer, there can be no doubt, is the special instrument for the purpose, and it was, moreover, that employed by
Scientific American Supplement, No. 623, December 10, 1887 Various
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Its aperture is of only six inches, while that of the Oxford heliometer is of seven and a half; but the perfection of the arrangements adapting it to the twofold function of equatorial and micrometer stamps it as a model not easy to be surpassed.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 623, December 10, 1887 Various
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He invented the necessary machines, constructed a spherometer, and developed the moving and measuring devices used in astronomical telescopes, such as the screw micrometer and the heliometer.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
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