1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
EQUATOR (Late Lat. aequator, from aequare, to make equal), in geography, that great circle of the earth, equidistant from the two poles, which divides the northern from the southern hemisphere and lies in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the earth ; this is termed the " geographical " or " terrestrial equator." In astronomy, the " celestial equator " is the name given to the great circle in which the plane of the terrestrial equator intersects the celestial sphere; it is consequently equidistant from the celest…
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- Vol. 9, pp. 720-720