hour circle

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noun Astronomy.

a great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the celestial poles and containing a point on the celestial sphere, as a star or the vernal equinox.

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Also called circle of declination.

Origin of hour circle

First recorded in 1665–75

Words nearby hour circle

Hounslow, Houphouet-Boigny, houppelande, hour, hour angle, hour circle, hourglass, hourglass contraction, hourglass murmur, hourglass stomach, hour hand

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use hour circle in a sentence

So here I am in my requisite Lululemon pants, grunting along to an old hip-hop song at a most ungodly hour.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
An hour later, he scored a second flight to Johannesburg for $380.
‘We Out Here’: Inside the New Black Travel Movement|Charlise Ferguson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He was released within the hour without a bond on his own recognizance.
What Would Happen if I Got in White Cop’s Face?|Goldie Taylor|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, Linklater just won Best Director by the New York Film Critics Circle.
Coffee Talk with Ethan Hawke: On ‘Boyhood,’ Jennifer Lawrence, and Bill Clinton’s Urinal Exchange|Marlow Stern|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The child almost died from the delay of an hour in seeking help.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The night wore on, and the clock downstairs was striking the hour of two when she suddenly awakened.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
The sound of my step shall make your heart jump; a look from me shall make you dumb for an hour.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Words are often everywhere as the minute-hands of the soul, more important than even the hour-hands of action.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou
After an hour, however, he reached this decision: He would not go to or call up Mrs. Merley.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
It was the darkest hour of twilight, when there was just enough of gleam from the lurid sky, to shew the outline of objects.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

British Dictionary definitions for hour circle

hour circle

noun

a great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the celestial poles and a specified point, such as a star

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

Scientific definitions for hour circle

hour circle

A great circle passing through the poles of the celestial sphere and intersecting the celestial equator at right angles. An hour circle is equivalent to a meridian on Earth and is used in describing the position of a celestial body with respect to an observer's celestial meridian. See more at hour angle.