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Angular distance appears in mathematics (in particular geometry and trigonometry) and all natural sciences (e.g., kinematics, astronomy, and geophysics). In the classical mechanics of rotating objects, it appears alongside angular velocity, angular acceleration, angular momentum, moment of inertia and torque.
Thus, the angular diameter of Earth's orbit around the Sun as viewed from a distance of 1 pc is 2″, as 1 AU is the mean radius of Earth's orbit. The angular diameter of the Sun, from a distance of one light-year, is 0.03″, and that of Earth 0.0003″. The angular diameter 0.03″ of the Sun given above is approximately the same as that of a ...
By subtracting this figure from 90°, he would find that the zenith distance of the Sun is 0°, which is the same as his latitude. If Observer B is standing at one of the geographical poles (latitude 90°N or 90°S), he would see the Sun on the horizon at an altitude of 0°.
The frame of a sextant is in the shape of a sector which is approximately 1 ⁄ 6 of a circle (60°), [2] hence its name (sextāns, sextantis is the Latin word for "one sixth"). "). Both smaller and larger instruments are (or were) in use: the octant, quintant (or pentant) and the (doubly reflecting) quadrant [3] span sectors of approximately 1 ⁄ 8 of a circle (45°), 1 ⁄ 5 of a circle (72 ...
Right ascension (abbreviated RA; symbol α) is the angular distance of a particular point measured eastward along the celestial equator from the Sun at the March equinox to the (hour circle of the) point in question above the Earth. [1]
To compute the greatest distance D BL at which an observer B can see the top of an object L above the horizon, simply add the distances to the horizon from each of the two points: D BL = D B + D L For example, for an observer B with a height of h B =1.70 m standing on the ground, the horizon is D B =4.65 km away.
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.
Hence the distance is greatest when looking directly away from the Sun along the horizon in the east, and lowest along the horizon in the west. The bottom plot in the figure to the left represents the angular distance from the observed pointing to the zenith, which is opposite to the interior angle located at the Sun.