transit instrument

transit instrument ExamplesWord Origin noun

1. Astronomy. meridian circle.
2. Surveying. transit(def 6a).

Origin of transit instrument First recorded in 1805–15 Examples from the Web for transit instrument Historical Examples of transit instrument

The transit-instrument, or culminatory, observes when a star has reached the highest point in its course.

Titan: A Romance v. 1 (of 2)

Jean Paul Friedrich Richter

The deviation of a transit-instrument from the plane of the meridian at the horizon; it is also termed the azimuthal error.

The Sailor’s Word-Book

William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for transit instrument transit instrument 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