vertical circle

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vertical circle

n.
See meridian.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vertical circle

n
(Astronomy) astronomy a great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the zenith and perpendicular to the horizon
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ver′tical cir′cle



n.
a great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the zenith.
[1550–60]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.vertical circle - a great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the zenith and perpendicular to the horizon
great circle - a circular line on the surface of a sphere formed by intersecting it with a plane passing through the center
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According to the description of Biot (1821), this goniometer consists of a vertical circle with a horizontal mirrored glass in its center [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 26 OMITTED].
Most goniometers with mirrors are of the Wollaston type; that is, they have a vertical circle. As already mentioned, however, the measuring technique is workable for circles in any position.
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