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Meaning of HELIACAL

Pronunciation:  hi'lIukul

WordNet Dictionary
 
 Definition: [adj]  pertaining to or near the sun; especially the first rising of a star after and last setting before its invisibility owing to its conjunction with the sun; "the heliacal rising of the Dog Star"; "the heliacal or Sothic year is determined by the heliacal rising of Sothis (the Egyptian name for the Dog Star)"
 
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 Synonyms: heliac
 

 

 

Webster's 1913 Dictionary
 
 Definition: 
\He*li"a*cal\, a. [Gr. ? belonging to the sun, fr. ?
the sun: cf. F. h['e]liaque.] (Astron.)
Emerging from the light of the sun, or passing into it;
rising or setting at the same, or nearly the same, time as
the sun. --Sir T. Browne.
Note: The heliacal rising of a star is when, after being in
      conjunction with the sun, and invisible, it emerges
      from the light so as to be visible in the morning
      before sunrising. On the contrary, the heliacal setting
      of a star is when the sun approaches conjunction so
      near as to render the star invisible.
 

 

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