transit instrument

American  

noun

1. Astronomy. meridian circle.

2. Surveying. transit.

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transit instrument British  

noun

1. an astronomical instrument, mounted on an E-W axis, in which the reticle of a telescope is always in the plane of the meridian. It is used to time the transit of a star, etc, across the meridian

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Etymology

Origin of transit instrument

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

The planetarium's dome will float over a reflecting pool, will house an "intermediate space transit instrument" which will project the heavens not only as they appear on earth but from the moon.

From Time Magazine Archive

We ran the base line up through Kanab and at the head of it pitched a small observatory tent over a stone foundation on which Prof, set up a large transit instrument for stellar observations.

From A Canyon Voyage The Narrative of the Second Powell Expedition down the Green-Colorado River from Wyoming, and the Explorations on Land, in the Years 1871 and 1872 by Dellenbaugh, Frederick Samuel

Prodigious trouble has been taken to keep the time, and this object has been immensely helped by the telephone communication between the cavern, the transit instrument, and the interior of the hut.

From Scott's Last Expedition Volume I by Scott, Robert Falcon

When the telescope is mounted on two pillars instead of the face of a wall, it is called a transit instrument.

From Recreations in Astronomy With Directions for Practical Experiments and Telescopic Work by Warren, Henry White

M. Leverrier showed me the transit instrument and the mural circle.

From Maria Mitchell: Life, Letters, and Journals by Mitchell, Maria