Culmination and Transit - the same thing?

[Jove]

Possibly a stupid question...

I've come across phrases like 'Saturn culminates at 2230' and 'Jupiter transits at 2349' - I've looked up what they mean and can't work out what the difference between something culminating and transiting is... they both seem to mean 'cross the meridian', so are they just different ways of saying the same thing, or is there some distinction that is lost on me?

Thanks!

[Thomas]

The term, "culmination," actually means, "at highest position," which does indeed occur when crossing the meridian. "Transit," means, "in passage across." It may well refer to the meridian, as in the example of Jupiter, but could also refer to the passage of Mercury or Venus across the Sun, or of, for example, the Jovian satellites across Jupiter. I hope that helps.