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

He has also a fine transit instrument, and the admiral, being his near neighbor, has the privilege of using the observatory as his own.

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

The direction of the meridian is determined either by a theodolite or a portable transit instrument.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various

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

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

A coast survey observer had once let me look through his transit instrument and try to observe the passage of a star.

From The Reminiscences of an Astronomer by Newcomb, Simon