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planisphere

American  
[plan-uh-sfeer, pley-nuh-] / ˈplæn əˌsfɪər, ˈpleɪ nə- /

noun

  1. a map of half or more of the celestial sphere with a device for indicating the part of a given location visible at a given time.

  2. a projection or representation of the whole or a part of a sphere on a plane.


planisphere British  
/ ˌplænɪˈsfɛrɪk, ˈplænɪˌsfɪə /

noun

  1. a projection or representation of all or part of a sphere on a plane surface, such as a polar projection of the celestial sphere onto a chart

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of planisphere

1350–1400; plani- + sphere; replacing Middle English planisperie < Medieval Latin plānisphaerium

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Getty exhibits a planisphere clock, demonstrating mean time and solar time in cities around the globe, as well as the timing of the tides in northern ports.

From The Guardian • Jul. 29, 2011

In summer I sometimes come outside at night with my torch and my planisphere, which is two circles of plastic with a pin through the middle.

From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon

Besides these apparatus, she was likewise the inventor of an astrolabe and a planisphere.

From Woman in Science With an Introductory Chapter on Woman's Long Struggle for Things of the Mind by Zahm, John Augustine

A copy, or planisphere, of Behem's globe is given by Cladera in his investigations.

From The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Volume II) by Irving, Washington

Clapperton first exhibited a planisphere of the heavenly bodies.

From Lander's Travels The Travels of Richard Lander into the Interior of Africa by Huish, Robert

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