ephemeris

American  

[ih-fem-er-is] / ɪˈfɛm ər ɪs /

noun

• ephemerides
  plural

1. a table showing the positions of a heavenly body on a number of dates in a regular sequence.

2. an astronomical almanac containing such tables.

3. Archaic. an almanac or calendar.

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ephemeris British  

/ ɪˈfɛmərɪs /

noun

1. a table giving the future positions of a planet, comet, or satellite

2. an annual publication giving the positions of the sun, moon, and planets during the course of a year, information concerning eclipses, astronomical constants, etc

3. obsolete a diary or almanac

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ephemeris Scientific  

/ ĭ-fĕm′ər-ĭs /

• ephemerides
  plural

1. A table giving the coordinates of a celestial body at specific times during a given period. Ephemerides can be used by navigators to determine their longitude while at sea and by astronomers in following objects such as comets. The use of computers has allowed modern ephemerides to determine celestial positions with far greater accuracy than in earlier publications.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ephemerides
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of ephemeris

1545–55; < Latin ephēmeris day book, diary < Greek ephēmerís diary, account book, derivative of ephḗmeros; see ephemeral

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ephemeris ephemerides

This is the offset to apply to Chariklo’s ephemeris to fit the observations.

From Nature ● Apr. 4, 2014

From the resulting elements of the orbit the positions of the body from day to day may be computed and tabulated in an ephemeris for the use of observers.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various

He also got a quadrant and compass into the boat; but was forbidden, on pain of death, to touch either map, ephemeris, book of astronomical observations, sextant, time-keeper, or any of my surveys or drawings.

From A Narrative Of The Mutiny, On Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; And The Subsequent Voyage Of Part Of The Crew, In The Ship's Boat by William Bligh

In explaining it, I will take the ephemeris as it now is, with the small changes which have been made from time to time.

From Side-Lights on Astronomy and Kindred Fields of Popular Science by Simon Newcomb

For instance, under the entry newspaper occurs the attractive word ephemeris.

From Public Speaking by Clarence Stratton

Subsequent ephemerides were prepared with more practical objects.

From Side-Lights on Astronomy and Kindred Fields of Popular Science by Simon Newcomb

In consequence I had no legal right to go on with the former, although the ephemerides of Europe were waiting for the results.

From The Reminiscences of an Astronomer by Simon Newcomb

The preceding are the principal astronomical and nautical ephemerides of the world, but there are a number of minor publications, of the same class, of which I cannot pretend to give a complete list.

From Side-Lights on Astronomy and Kindred Fields of Popular Science by Simon Newcomb

To avoid any chance of mistake, it should be prominently stated on each page of the ephemerides that mean time reckoned from mean midnight is kept throughout.

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

The rule adopted, therefore, is to have all the ephemerides which refer to absolute time, without any reference to a meridian, given for Greenwich noon, unless there may be some special reason to the contrary.

From Side-Lights on Astronomy and Kindred Fields of Popular Science by Simon Newcomb

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Related Words

• calendar
• journal
• yearbook

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