equinoctial point

American  

noun

1. either of the two points at which the celestial equator and the ecliptic intersect each other; the position of the sun's center at the equinoxes.

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equinoctial point British  

noun

1. either of the two points at which the celestial equator intersects the ecliptic

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Etymology

Origin of equinoctial point

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

But this was not so in Virgil’s time, when—on account of the precession of the equinoxes—the equinoctial point had already entered Pisces, in which constellation it still remains.

From Project Gutenberg

You can trace out this great circle, from which astronomical longitudes are reckoned, by drawing an imaginary line from the equinoctial point just indicated through α in Andromeda and β in Cassiopeia to the pole-star.

From Project Gutenberg

I thought the equinoctial points, were fixed points in the heavens, in which the equator cuts the ecliptic.

From Project Gutenberg

Precession is a retrograde or westerly motion of the equinoctial points, caused by the attraction of the Sun, Moon, and planets on the spheroidal figure of the Earth.

From Project Gutenberg

It is inclined to the equinoctial at an angle of nearly 23° 28′, called the obliquity of the ecliptic, and cuts it in two points diametrically opposite to each other, called the equinoctial points.

From Project Gutenberg