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prime vertical

British

noun

astronomy the great circle passing through the observer's zenith and meeting the horizon due east and west

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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The transit instrument is also used in the prime vertical for the determination of latitudes.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various

The usual observations made by navigators at sea consist in a meridian observation of the sun for latitude, and a morning and possibly afternoon observation of the sun near the prime vertical for longitude.

From International Conference Held at Washington for the Purpose of Fixing a Prime Meridian and a Universal Day. October, 1884. Protocols of the Proceedings by Various

As the sun, in North latitudes, passes the prime vertical before sunrise in the winter, the following remarks do not hold for that season.

From Lectures in Navigation by Draper, Ernest Gallaudet

Sun Sight In order to make this a valuable sight for longitude it should be taken when the sun is on or as near as possible to the prime vertical.

From Lectures in Navigation by Draper, Ernest Gallaudet

Take the morning sight for longitude when the sun is on or as near as possible to the prime vertical.

From Lectures in Navigation by Draper, Ernest Gallaudet

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023