Meridian Mark
by Royal Astronomical Society
Title
Meridian Mark
Artist
Royal Astronomical Society
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Meridian mark. 19th-century illustration of a meridian mark in the arched style. This device is used to mark a meridian, a line of longitude. This was done here to define the location of a transit room. This is a room in an astronomical observatory that houses a transit instrument, used to measure the positions of celestial objects as they transit a pre-defined point. Here, this is the point in the sky above this meridian. The precision optical equipment at centre is used to align the instruments used. Artwork from 'The Cycle of Celestial Objects continued at the Hartwell Observatory to 1859' (1860) by British astronomer William Henry Smyth (1788-1865).
Uploaded
August 8th, 2016
Embed
Share
Comments
There are no comments for Meridian Mark. Click here to post the first comment.