celestial equator is the great circle in which the plane of the terrestrial Equator intersects the celestial sphere; it consequently is equidistant from the celestial poles. When the Sun lies in its plane, day and night are everywhere of equal length, a twice-per-year occurrence known…

What is the celestial equator quizlet?

The celestial equator is an imaginary plane that divides the celestial sphere into North and Southern hemispheres.

What is the difference between the equator and the celestial equator?

The celestial equator is the great circle of the imaginary celestial sphere on the same plane as the equator of Earth. ... In other words, the celestial equator is an abstract projection of the terrestrial equator into outer space.

What is the value of the celestial equator?

Declination (DEC) is the celestial sphere's equivalent of latitude and it is expressed in degrees, as is latitude. For DEC, + and - refer to north and south, respectively. The celestial equator is 0° DEC, and the poles are +90° and -90°.

How do you find the celestial equator?

Note also that the celestial equator always intersects the horizon exactly at East and West, wherever you are. To find the celestial equator, find the pole first. Look 90° one way, then the other, these are East and West. Then turn round through 180° so you're facing the opposite way.

Astronomy - Ch. 2: Understanding the Night Sky (5 of 23) Understanding the Celestial Sphere

16 related questions found

Where do you see the celestial equator?

Viewed from Earth's equator, the celestial equator begins at the eastern horizon, passes directly overhead and drops down to the western horizon. Since we're inside a sphere, it would continue around the backside of the Earth as well.

Does the moon move along the celestial equator?

The Sun, Moon, and planets appear to move across the sky much like the stars. Because of the Earth's rotation, everything in the sky seems to move together, turning once around us every 24 hours. ... Likewise, every point on the celestial equator is exactly overhead from some point on the Earth's equator.

What is the purpose of the celestial pole?

The celestial poles are the two points where the projection of the Earth's rotation axis intersects with the celestial sphere. Star trails around the south celestial pole and the dome of the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT).

What is meant by right ascension?

right ascension, in astronomy, the east–west coordinate by which the position of a celestial body is ordinarily measured; more precisely, it is the angular distance of a body's hour circle east of the vernal equinox, measured along the celestial equator. ... The symbol for right ascension is the Greek letter α (alpha).

What are the celestial poles quizlet?

Celestial Pole. The north and south celestial poles are the two imaginary points in the sky where the Earth's axis of rotation, indefinitely extended, intersects the celestial sphere.

Where is the celestial equator in your sky quizlet?

+ The celestial equator is a line on the celestial sphere that lies directly above the Earth's equator. That is, if a person were to stand anywhere on the Earth's equator and look directly up at the zenith, that point on the sky would lie on the celestial equator.

What is the celestial equator why is it important in the equatorial coordinate system?

The Equatorial Coordinate System is generally the preferred way astronomers use to keep track of the positions of objects in the sky. Astronomers imagine that the Earth is surrounded by a large sphere called the celestial sphere. The Earth's equator and the plane of the Earth's orbit are projected onto this sphere.

What is another term for celestial equator?

noun Astronomy, Navigation. the great circle of the celestial sphere, lying in the same plane as the earth's equator. Also called equator, equinoctial, equinoctial circle, equinoctial line.

Where is my zenith?

Zenith, in astronomy terms, is the point in the sky directly overhead.

What is the relationship between the equator and poles of the celestial sphere and equator and poles of the earth?

The celestial equator is the great circle formed by the intersection of the earth's equatorial plane with the surface of the celestial sphere. The celestial poles are the points where the extended earth's axis pierces the celestial sphere.

What are celestial poles and celestial equator?

definition. In astronomical map: The celestial sphere. …about a northern or southern celestial pole, the projection into space of Earth's own poles. Equidistant from the two poles is the celestial equator; this great circle is the projection into space of Earth's Equator.

Where on the Earth would you stand so that the north celestial pole is right on your horizon?

If you were standing at Earth's North Pole, where would you see the north celestial pole relative to your zenith? (The north celestial pole is defined as the point in the celestial sphere directly above Earth's North Pole. So, if you are at the North Pole, the north celestial pole must be directly above your head).

Where on Earth do you have to be in order to see the south celestial pole directly overhead?

To see the celestial equator pass through your zenith, you would need to be 35 degrees north latitude, or 35 degrees north of the equator. For the south celestial pole to be at my zenith, I would have to be 35 degrees south of the equator.

Where on Earth can you have a 24 hour day or night where on Earth can the sun pass through the zenith of it is summer in Australia What season is it in the United States?

Now it is the Arctic Circle that has the 24-hour night and the Antarctic Circle that has the midnight Sun. At latitude 23° S, called the Tropic of Capricorn, the Sun passes through the zenith at noon. Days are longer in the Southern Hemisphere and shorter in the north.

Does the sky rotate with the Earth?

The entire sky — and all the stars in it — spins around the Earth with a period of 24 hours, causing the stars to change position as we observe it from Earth. The entire sky is — to the best of our observations — stationary, and appears to spin because the Earth is rotating beneath it.

Does the Earth move in the celestial sphere?

The celestial sphere presupposes that Earth is at the center of the view, which extends into infinity. ... In addition to their apparent daily motion around the Earth, the Sun, Moon, and planets of the solar system have their own motion with respect to the sphere. The Earth moves about the Sun in an ecliptic plane.

Where is the celestial equator not visible?

The Celestial Equator is visible from all points on Earth, except that at the poles, in which case it would be right on the horizon.

Can you see the celestial equator from the South Pole?

Similarly, an observer at the South Pole would see only the southern half of the sky. If you were at Earth's equator, on the other hand, you see the celestial equator (which, after all, is just an “extension” of Earth's equator) pass overhead through your zenith.

Is the equator visible?

The Equator is the invisible line that runs around the center of the Earth at 0 degrees latitude. An equator is an imaginary line around the middle of a planet or other celestial body.