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celestial equator

celestial equator

noun Astronomy, Navigation.
the great circle of the celestial sphere, lying in the same plane as the earth's equator.


Origin:
1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Celestial equator is always a great word to know.
So is alpha. Does it mean:
the magnitude of a star as it would appear to a hypothetical observer at a distance of 10 parsecs or 32.6 light-years
used to designate the brightest star in a constellation
Collins
World English Dictionary
celestial equator
 
n
equinoctial, Also called: equinoctial circle the great circle lying on the celestial sphere the plane of which is perpendicular to the line joining the north and south celestial poles

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
celestial equator  
A great circle separating the northern and southern hemispheres of the celestial sphere and lying in the same plane as the Earth's equator. The celestial equator is a projection of the Earth's equator outward onto the celestial sphere and is used as the reference point in determining a celestial body's declination.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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