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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. Therefore, the horizontal coordinate system is sometimes called the az/el system, [1] the alt/az system, or the alt-azimuth system, among
In the cylindrical coordinate system, a z-coordinate with the same meaning as in Cartesian coordinates is added to the r and θ polar coordinates giving a triple (r, θ, z). [8] Spherical coordinates take this a step further by converting the pair of cylindrical coordinates ( r , z ) to polar coordinates ( ρ , φ ) giving a triple ( ρ , θ ...
When used as a celestial coordinate, the azimuth is the horizontal direction of a star or other astronomical object in the sky. The star is the point of interest, the reference plane is the local area (e.g. a circular area with a 5 km radius at sea level ) around an observer on Earth's surface , and the reference vector points to true north .
The word horizontal is derived from the Latin horizon, which derives from the Greek ὁρῐ́ζων, meaning 'separating' or 'marking a boundary'. [2] The word vertical is derived from the late Latin verticalis, which is from the same root as vertex, meaning 'highest point' or more literally the 'turning point' such as in a whirlpool.
In another approach known as the horizontal coordinate system, the meridian is divided into the local meridian, the semicircle that contains the observer's zenith and the north and south points of their horizon, [1] [2] and the opposite semicircle, which contains the nadir and the north and south points of their horizon.
However, for someone on a 1,000 m (3,300 ft) hill looking out across the sea, the true horizon will be about a degree below a horizontal line. In astronomy, the horizon is the horizontal plane through the eyes of the observer. It is the fundamental plane of the horizontal coordinate system, the locus of points that have an altitude of zero ...
For a geographic coordinate system of the Earth, the fundamental plane is the Equator. Astronomical coordinate systems have varying fundamental planes: [2] The horizontal coordinate system uses the observer's horizon. The Besselian coordinate system uses Earth's terminator (day/night boundary). [3] This is a Cartesian coordinate system (x, y, z).
The physics convention. Spherical coordinates (r, θ, φ) as commonly used: (ISO 80000-2:2019): radial distance r (slant distance to origin), polar angle θ (angle with respect to positive polar axis), and azimuthal angle φ (angle of rotation from the initial meridian plane). This is the convention followed in this article.