Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A graduated scale in the shape of a figure eight, indicating the sun's declination and the equation of time for every day of the year, often found on sundials and globes.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A form of sun-dial, now disused.
  • noun In geometry, an orthographic projection of the sphere on the plane of the meridian, the eye being supposed to be at an infinite distance, and in the east or west point of the horizon.
  • noun Hence An instrument of wood or brass on which a projection of this nature is drawn, formerly used in solving astronomical problems.
  • noun A tabu-lated scale, usually drawn in the form of the figure 8, depicted across the torrid zone on a terrestrial globe, to show the sun's declination and the equation of time on any day of the year.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Chem.) An orthographic projection of the sphere on the plane of the meridian, the eye being supposed at an infinite distance, and in the east or west point of the horizon.
  • noun An instrument of wood or brass, on which this projection of the sphere is made, having a movable horizon or cursor; -- formerly much used in solving some common astronomical problems.
  • noun A scale of the sun's declination for each day of the year, drawn across the torrid zone on an artificial terrestrial globe.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An egg-shaped or figure-eight curve that results when the Sun's position in the sky is plotted out over the year at the same hour of mean solar time every day.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin, sundial, from Greek analēmma, from analambanein, to take up; see analeptic.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἀνάλημμα ("pedestal of a sundial").

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Examples

  • The analemma is a basis for calculation deduced from the course of the sun, and found by observation of the shadow as it increases until the winter solstice.

    The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio

  • For more information about the Analemma Society, visit www. analemma.org.

    At Fairfax park, amateur astronomer helps to bring stars down to Earth Holly Hobbs 2010

  • For it is from this revolution of the firmament, from the course of the sun through the signs in the opposite direction, and from the shadows cast by equinoctial gnomons, that we find the figure of the analemma.

    The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio

  • This is because the length of the shadow at the equinox is used in constructing the figure of the analemma, in accordance with which the hours are marked to conform to the situation and the shadow of the gnomon.

    The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio

  • The hours, indicated by bronze rods in accordance with the figure of the analemma, radiate from a centre on the face.

    The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio

  • Whoever wishes to find their baseplates, can easily do so from the books of these writers, provided only he understands the figure of the analemma.

    The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio

  • Let the hours be marked off transversely on the column from the analemma, and let the lines of the months also be marked upon the column.

    The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio

  • This having been drawn and completed, the scheme of hours is next to be drawn on the baseplates from the analemma, according to the winter lines, or those of summer, or the equinoxes, or the months, and thus many different kinds of dials may be laid down and drawn by this ingenious method.

    The Ten Books on Architecture Vitruvius Pollio

  • One neat, modern trick we've been able to photograph is an analemma, or a picture of the Sun at the same exact time on different days over the course of a year.

    ScienceBlogs Channel : Life Science 2009

  • One neat, modern trick we've been able to photograph is an analemma, or a picture of the Sun at the same exact time on different days over the course of a year.

    ScienceBlogs Channel : Life Science 2009

Comments

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  • Analemma names the figure-eight shaped trace of the sun at a given time over the course of a solar year. You can see an example here.

    May 10, 2007

  • Conceivably we could have a list for egg-shaped things.

    February 5, 2019