coronagraph

noun

co·​ro·​na·​graph kə-ˈrō-nə-ˌgraf How to pronounce coronagraph (audio)
variants or less commonly coronograph
plural coronagraphs also coronographs
: a telescope for observation of a star's corona
The American spacecraft was to carry the solar coronagraph, the only instrument on the mission capable of imaging the sun's polar regions …M. Mitchell Waldrop
Using an instrument called a coronagraph, the astronomers can block a star's light, to catch the dim glow of dark matter that may surround it.Jonathan Weiner

Examples of coronagraph in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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For one thing, Webb does not have the exoplanet coronagraph capability that Roman has. Jeffrey Kluger/greenbelt, TIME, 8 Feb. 2025 The space telescope will have four primary instruments, including a super-sensitive coronagraph that can detect Earth-size planets around distant stars. Tariq Malik, Space.com, 16 Jan. 2025 Those who do not want to miss the show can follow the comet in images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory’s Lasco C3 coronagraph, or consult the IAU Minor Planet Center or the Comet OBServation (COBS) database. Marta Musso, WIRED, 11 Jan. 2025 Several missions have studied the sun and created artificial eclipses, including the ESA and NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission that used a coronagraph to block the sun. Chandelis Duster, NPR, 21 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for coronagraph 

Word History

Etymology

corona + -graph

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of coronagraph was in 1884

Dictionary Entries Near coronagraph

Cite this Entry

“Coronagraph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coronagraph. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.

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