heliostat
noun
he·lio·stat
ˈhē-lē-ə-ˌstat 
: an instrument consisting of a mirror mounted on an axis moved by clockwork by which a sunbeam is steadily reflected in one direction
Examples of heliostat in a Sentence
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Instead of creating a picture by mapping where light lands on each sensor (or pixel), the heliostat method skips imaging entirely.
—
Victoria Corless, Space.com, 5 Aug. 2025
However, those heliostats can do more than track the sun.
—David Szondy
august 03, New Atlas, 3 Aug. 2025
During the event, two heliostats with moveable mirrors were used to direct images of the eclipsed Sun into a pair of horizontal telescopes.
—Rebecca Boyle, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024
On the roof of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, this heliostat array focuses sunlight on a reactor that can turn carbon dioxide from the air into fuel.
—Frank Swain, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2020
Placing three heliostats, spaced every 120 degrees along a crater rim would ensure steady illumination to the mine, and two more would beam light at the vapor capture tent and fuel processing plant, according to Sowers.
—Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 27 Apr. 2020
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Victoria Corless, Space.com, 5 Aug. 2025
However, those heliostats can do more than track the sun.
—David Szondy
august 03, New Atlas, 3 Aug. 2025
During the event, two heliostats with moveable mirrors were used to direct images of the eclipsed Sun into a pair of horizontal telescopes.
—Rebecca Boyle, TIME, 8 Apr. 2024
On the roof of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, this heliostat array focuses sunlight on a reactor that can turn carbon dioxide from the air into fuel.
—Frank Swain, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2020
Placing three heliostats, spaced every 120 degrees along a crater rim would ensure steady illumination to the mine, and two more would beam light at the vapor capture tent and fuel processing plant, according to Sowers.
—Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 27 Apr. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Heliostat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heliostat. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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