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In astronomy, the altitude in the horizontal coordinate system and the zenith angle are complementary angles, with the horizon perpendicular to the zenith. The astronomical meridian is also determined by the zenith, and is defined as a circle on the celestial sphere that passes through the zenith, nadir, and the celestial poles.
It is the complement to the solar altitude or solar elevation, which is the altitude angle or elevation angle between the sun’s rays and a horizontal plane. [1] [2] At solar noon, the zenith angle is at a minimum and is equal to latitude minus solar declination angle. This is the basis by which ancient mariners navigated the oceans. [3]
It is the complement to the solar altitude or solar elevation, which is the altitude angle or elevation angle between the sun’s rays and a horizontal plane. [4] [5] At solar noon, the zenith angle is at a minimum and is equal to latitude minus solar declination angle. This is the basis by which ancient mariners navigated the oceans. [6]
Zenith, nadir: Altitude (a) or elevation Azimuth (A) North or south point of horizon Equatorial: Center of the Earth (geocentric), or Sun (heliocentric) Celestial equator: Celestial poles: Declination (δ) Right ascension (α) or hour angle (h) March equinox: Ecliptic: Ecliptic: Ecliptic poles: Ecliptic latitude (β) Ecliptic longitude (λ ...
Azimuth is measured eastward from the north point (sometimes from the south point) of the horizon; altitude is the angle above the horizon. The horizontal coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system that uses the observer's local horizon as the fundamental plane to define two angles of a spherical coordinate system: altitude and azimuth.
The declination of the Sun, δ ☉, is the angle between the rays of the Sun and the plane of the Earth's equator. The Earth's axial tilt (called the obliquity of the ecliptic by astronomers) is the angle between the Earth's axis and a line perpendicular to the Earth's orbit. The Earth's axial tilt changes slowly over thousands of years but its ...
The polar angle may be called inclination angle, zenith angle, normal angle, or the colatitude. The user may choose to replace the inclination angle by its complement , the elevation angle (or altitude angle ), measured upward between the reference plane and the radial line—i.e., from the reference plane upward (towards to the positive z-axis ...
The maximum visible zenith angle occurs when the ray is tangent to Earth's surface; from triangle OCG in the figure at right, cos γ = R R + h {\displaystyle \cos \gamma ={\frac {R}{R+h}}} where h {\displaystyle h} is the observer's height above the surface and γ {\displaystyle \gamma } is the angular dip of the horizon.