Which systematic error affects altitude measurements taken with a brass astrolabe subject to diurnal temperature variations?

💡 Explanation

When temperature fluctuates daily, differential thermal expansion of the brass limb induces distortion because brass has a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion causing the circular scale to become slightly elliptical, biasing angle measurements. Therefore limb distortion causes angular bias, rather than parallax which comes from viewing angle; index which comes from initial setup; or collimation relating to optical path alignment.

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