armillary sphere
an ancient instrument consisting of an arrangement of rings, all of which are circles of the same sphere, used to show the relative positions of the celestial equator, ecliptic, and other circles on the celestial sphere.
Origin of armillary sphere
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How to use armillary sphere in a sentence
Topping the piece is a small armillary sphere representing the Ptolemaic system.
Terrestrial and Celestial Globes Vol II | Edward Luther StevensonThis machine, he says, has a circumference of thirty-two feet, being constructed in the form of an armillary sphere.
Terrestrial and Celestial Globes Vol II | Edward Luther StevensonThe piece may be referred to as a fine example of the armillary sphere of the period.
Terrestrial and Celestial Globes Vol II | Edward Luther StevensonThe province of the armillary sphere was to make these measurements extremely accurate.
A History of Science, Volume 1(of 5) | Henry Smith WilliamsThe portrait is supposed to represent the unknown artist's wife; the angel holds an armillary sphere.
British Dictionary definitions for armillary sphere
a model of the celestial sphere consisting of rings representing the relative positions of the celestial equator, ecliptic, etc, used by early astronomers for determining the positions of stars
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 armillary sphere
[ är′mə-lĕr′ē, är-mĭl′ə-rē ]
An early astronomical device made of fixed and movable rings representing circles of the celestial sphere, such as the ecliptic and the celestial equator. It was used as early as the third century bce as both a teaching instrument and an observational tool.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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