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more about astrolabe
astrolabe |
2 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Astrolabe \As"tro*labe\ ([a^]s"tr[-o]*l[=a]b), n. [OE. astrolabie astrilabe OF astrelabe F. astrolabe, LL astrolabium fr Gr 'astrola`bon; 'a`stron star + ?, ?, to take.] 1. (Astron.) An instrument for observing or showing the positions of the stars. It is now disused. Note: Among the ancients, it was essentially the armillary sphere. A graduated circle with sights, for taking altitudes at sea, was called an astrolabe in the 18th century. It is now superseded by the quadrant and sextant. 2. A stereographic projection of the sphere on the plane of a great circle, as the equator, or a meridian; a planisphere. --Whewell. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: astrolabe n : an early form of sextant
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