ALTITUDE

(Lat. ali us, high, altitude, height.) In Astronomy, denotes the angle of elevation ofa celestial object,or the angle of the visual ray with the horizon. The ofa star is apparent or true. The apparent altitude is the angle ascertained immediately from observation;the true altitude is found by correcting the apparent altitude for refraction, parallax, . Altitude is frequently used in Elementary Geometry instead of height. The attitude of a triangle is measured by a straight line drawn 1 vertex perpendicular to the base; and the altitude ofa cone by a straight line drawn from the vertex perpendicular to the plane of the base. [s. 52]