Arcsecond (Noun)
Meaning
A 60th part of a minute of arc; "the treasure is 2 minutes and 45 seconds south of here".
Classification
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure.
Examples
- The astronomer carefully measured the position of the star to within a single arcsecond.
- The telescope's precision was limited to about 10 arcseconds, making it unsuitable for pinpointing distant galaxies.
- The mapmaker carefully noted the location as 2 minutes and 45 seconds south of the landmark, allowing for an accuracy of one arcsecond.
- To achieve such precision, the engineers spent years fine-tuning the satellite's navigation system to within a fraction of an arcsecond.
- Using a highly advanced spectrograph, the researchers managed to measure the star's position to an astonishing 0.1 arcsecond.