An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A → telescope that is mounted on a → vertical axis or moves only a small amount from the vertical. It is primarily used to determine positional measurement of stars moving near the → zenith. The advantage is that there is no → atmospheric refraction occurring at the zenith. If a star on one night passes through the center of eyepiece, one must observe it six month later, and see if the star has been offset by the center. A shift would mean a measure of parallax. See also: → zenithal well.

→ zenith; → telescope