Elongation of a Star

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Elongation of a Star

 

the position of a star in its visible diurnal motion along the celestial sphere at which it is maximally deflected azimuthally from the south point. Elongation is observed only for stars that have an upper transit on the segment of the celestial meridian between the celestial pole and the zenith of the point of observation. A distinction is made between the western and eastern elongations of a star.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.