Definition of "equant" [e•quant]

• The center of a planetary epicycle. (noun)
• Having comparable measurements in all directions; equidimensional. (adjective)

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• "Disturbed by the failure of Ptolemy's geocentric model of the universe to follow Aristotle's requirement for the uniform circular motion of all celestial bodies and determined to eliminate Ptolemy's equant, an imaginary point around which the bodies seemed to follow that requirement, Copernicus decided that he could achieve his goal only through a heliocentric model."
• "Nor should we attribute Copernicus's desire for uniform circular motions to an aesthetic need, for this idea was philosophical not aesthetic, and Copernicus's replacing the equant with epicyclets made his system more complex than Ptolemy's."
• "Surprisingly, given that the elimination of the equant was so important in the"