celestial meridian

celestial meridian

See meridian.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

celestial meridian

[sə′les·chəl mə′rid·ē·ən]

(astronomy)

A great circle on the celestial sphere, passing through the two celestial poles and the observer's zenith.

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

celestial meridian

Semi–great circles produced by projecting the earth's meridian onto the celestial sphere. Each earth's meridian has its corresponding celestial meridian. The celestial meridian of any place on the earth is the great circle of the celestial sphere that passes through the celestial poles, zenith, and nadir and intersects the horizon exactly north and south. As the celestial sphere and the stars rotate, the celestial meridian remains fixed. Astronomical bodies change their celestial meridians continually with time.

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

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 It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Celestial Meridian

 

a great circle of the celestial sphere passing through the celestial poles and the zenith of the observing site. The celestial meridian intersects the celestial horizon at the south and north points.

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