单词 | transitarium |
释义 | transitariumn. Astronomy. rare (now historical). A device used for illustrating the geometry of the transit of Venus or Mercury across the sun's disk, invented by British peer and amateur astronomer Washington Shirley (1722–78).The transitarium is equipped with of a model of the earth, the sun, and a bead mounted upon a brass ring representing the transiting planet. The brass ring is turned by hand, while the earth is rotated on its axis by turning a crank to demonstrate how a transit would appear, and when and if it could be observed from a particular point.Since the relative positions and sizes of the different parts of the transitarium are not to scale, it cannot be used to predict transits. ΘΚΠ the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > astronomical instruments > representational device > [noun] > mechanical > orrery heaven1600 orrery1713 planetarium1734 transitarium1761 tellurion1763 eidouraniona1800 1761 Brit. Mag. 2 668 Earl Ferrers..presented to the [Royal] Society..a transitarium invented by his lordship for giving an ocular demonstration of the principles relating to the theory of that planet [sc. Venus]. 2013 Bull. Sci. Instrument Soc. No. 116. 9/1 These last two measurements are particularly telling and immediately indicate that the transitarium was not constructed to a true astronomical scale. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1761 |
随便看 |
|
英语词典包含1132095条英英释义在线翻译词条,基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法,是英语学习的有利工具。