ephemeris

ephemeris

(i-fem -ĕ-riss) (plural: ephemerides)

1. A work published regularly, usually annually, in which are tabulated the daily predicted positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, etc., for that period, together with information relating to certain stars, times of eclipses, etc. It is used in astronomical observation and navigation. See also Astronomical Almanac.

2. A series of predicted geocentric positions of a celestial object at constant intervals of time.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

Ephemeris

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

An ephemeris (pl., ephemerides) is an astronomical/astrological almanac listing the daily positions of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets, as well as other information, including, in astrological ephemerides, certain information necessary for calculating an astrological chart. The word is derived from the Greek ephemeros, meaning “existing no longer than a day,” from which the word “ephemeral” is also derived.

The use of such tables is very old, and ephemerides are used by navigators, astronomers, and astrologers. During the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, most of the readily available ephemerides listed planetary positions for noon at Greenwich, England (0° longitude). By the late twentieth century, however, ephemerides had proliferated to the point that tables of planetary positions for midnight Greenwich Mean Time and noon and midnight Eastern Standard Time (North America), sidereal ephemerides, and heliocentric (Sun-centered) emphemerides were all readily available. The personal computer revolution has partially eliminated the need for such tables, as ephemerides have been incorporated into chart-casting programs.

Sources:

Bach, Eleanor. Astrology from A to Z: An Illustrated Source Book. New York: Philosophical Library, 1990.

Muise, Roxana. A-Year-At-A-Glance: The 45 Degree Graphic Ephemeris for 101 Years, 1900–2001. Bellevue, WA: South Western Astrology Conference, 1986.

Sepharial [W. Gorn Old]. New Dictionary of Astrology. New York: Arco, 1964.

The Astrology Book, Second Edition © 2003 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.

ephemeris

[ə′fem·ə·rəs]

(astronomy)

A periodical publication tabulating the predicted positions of celestial bodies at regular intervals, such as daily, and containing other data of interest to astronomers. Also known as astronomical ephemeris.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

ephemeris (plural, ephemerides)

i. A periodical publication tabulating the predicted positions of celestial bodies at regular intervals, such as daily, and containing other data of interest to astronomers. A publication giving similar information useful to a navigator is called an almanac. An extract of an ephemeris table is shown in the illustration.
ii. A great-circle path scribed on the celestial sphere by the passage of a celestial body or satellite. The path or predicted path of a satellite.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

ephemeris

The astronomical position of objects in the sky.

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

Ephemeris

 

a table or collection of tables containing the values of variable astronomical quantities computed for a series of consecutive moments of time. The most commonly used ephemerides contain the coordinates of stars, planets, comets, artificial earth satellites, and the like and are used in observations of these celestial objects. Special ephemerides also contain information on the velocities of celestial objects and their brightness and other information necessary to organize observations. Ephemerides are computed on the basis of the mathematical theories of the motion of celestial objects.

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