Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,904,396,826 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

fixed star

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
fixed star
1. any of the stars in the Ptolemaic system, all of which were thought to be attached to an outer crystal sphere thus explaining their apparent lack of movement
2. an extremely distant star whose position appears to be almost stationary over a long period of time

fixed star [¦fikst ′stär]
(astronomy)
A misnomer to indicate those stars which kept apparently the same position with respect to other stars, in contrast to the planets which were termed wandering stars.


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Encyclopedia browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
Whither will wanderers turn distracted eyes For some fixed star to stimulate their pace Towards the goal of their enterprise?
Because it is moving rapidly against the fixed stars, it should be easily identified when viewed with a telescope.
Actually, the Stellatum, the Heaven of Fixed Stars, is the first step beyond Saturn, although Ward does not say so at this point (but see his note on the diagram of the Heavens on p.
 
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.