He is, however, principally celebrated as the first astronomer who measured a degree of a great circle, and thus approximated towards the real diameter of the earth.
But 7° 12' is equal to the fiftieth part of a great circle; and this, therefore, was the measure of the celestial arc contained between the zeniths of Syene and Alexandria.
This is designated as the sensible horizon; the rational, or true one, being a great circle of the heavens, parallel to the sensible horizon, but passing through the centre of the earth.
Magnetic meridian is not a great circle but a wavy line uniting those poles.
The sixtieth part of a degree of longitude or latitude; in the latter case it is the sixtieth part of a degree of a great circle, in the former it decreases in length as the latitude increases.
A meridian of longitude drawn down the Mississippi Valley remains always a straight line, or, rather, great circle, upon the surface of the earth, while Fig.
The Horizon is a great circleof the sky 90° distant from the zenith.
The Celestial Equator is a great circle of the sky distant 90° from the poles.
These, by examination of any good globe, will be found on a belt forming one and the same great circle of the earth.
June, Quito (with Cotopaxi active) were all more or less shaken by earthquakes; and are all found on one belt of a great circle.
To the terminus of the variation is commonly assigned a great circle, called the circle of variation, and also a magnetick meridian passing through the zenith and the point of variation on the horizon.
Great circle of a sphere, a circle the plane of which passes through the center of the sphere.
Asia Minor and the north-western half of Arabia lie outside such a great circle, which otherwise indicates, with fair accuracy, the north-western boundary of Asia.
In consequence of this motion the sun appears to us to describe annually a great circle, called the ecliptic, round the celestial sphere, among the stars, with a nearly uniform motion, of somewhat less than 1 deg.
The nautical mile in the United States is taken to be the length of a minute of arc of a great circle on a sphere whose surface equals that of the earth; this definition makes the nautical mile equal 6080.
Airy proposed a graphical method of sweeping the arc of a great circle on to a mercator chart, and tables are published for this purpose.
It is practicable to use this projection for oceanic areas, and it has the very important quality that every straight line on it represents a great circle of the earth.
The ecliptic is a great circle, in which the earth performs its annual revolutions around the sun.
A great circle, which passes through the pole of another great circle, cuts the latter at right angles.
The pole of a great circle is the point on the sphere where its axis cuts through the sphere.
Every great circle has two poles, each of which is every where ninety degrees from the great circle.
The shortest line joining any two points is an arc of a great circle.
Of the parallels of latitude, the equator only is a great circle.
The circle in which a sphere is cut by a plane is called a "great circle," when the cutting plane passes through the centre of sphere.
Great circle sailing, the process or art of conducting a ship on a great circle of the globe or on the shortest arc between two places.
Great circle of a sphere, a circle the plane of which passes through the center of the sphere.
Globular sailing, sailing on the arc of a great circle, or so as to make the shortest distance between two places; circular sailing.
But in the case in which the circle to be projected passes through V, the projection becomes, for a great circle, a line through the centre of the sphere; otherwise, a line anywhere.
Vok is the diameter of the sphere passing through the point of vision, fgh the plane of projection, kt a great circle, passing of course through V, and ouv the line of intersection of these two planes.
Thus the distance between New York and Oporto, following the former (great circle sailing), amounts to 3000 m.
The shortest distance between two places on the surface of a globe is represented by the arc of a great circle.
The deferent of each planet was supposed to be traced as a great circle upon a transparent separate crystal sphere; and all of the crystal spheres revolved once a day around an axis passing through the poles of the heavens.
We have still to define a great circle of the celestial sphere that is of equal importance with the celestial equator and the celestial horizon.
Straightness upon a sphere means the following of an arc of a great circle.
Each pair then proceeds down the disk inclined at its own particular angle to the meridian in order to reach by a great circle course a certain spot; the Pseboas Lucus in one case, the Luci Ismenii in the other.
You will very likely sight Tristan d'Acunha or Gough Island; but, if not, the course will keep you fairly well informed of your longitude, since most ships make more or less of a great circle track.
Instead of steering due East for the whole distance, they make for some southerly latitude by running along the arc of a great circle, THEN run due east for a thousand miles or so before gradually working north again.
The above list will hopefully provide you with a few useful examples demonstrating the appropriate usage of "great circle" in a variety of sentences. We hope that you will now be able to make sentences using this group of words.
