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In astronomy, there is also a heliocentric rectangular variant of equatorial coordinates, designated x, y, z, which has: The origin at the centre of the Sun. The fundamental plane in the plane of the Earth's equator. The primary direction (the x axis) toward the March equinox.
The equatorial describes the sky as seen from the Solar System, and modern star maps almost exclusively use equatorial coordinates. The equatorial system is the normal coordinate system for most professional and many amateur astronomers having an equatorial mount that follows the movement of the sky during the night. Celestial objects are found ...
When paired with declination, these astronomical coordinates specify the location of a point on the celestial sphere in the equatorial coordinate system. An old term, right ascension ( Latin : ascensio recta ) [ 2 ] refers to the ascension , or the point on the celestial equator that rises with any celestial object as seen from Earth 's equator ...
Heliocentric coordinate systems measure spatial positions relative to an origin at the Sun's center. There are four systems in use: the heliocentric inertial (HCI) system, the heliocentric Aries ecliptic (HAE) system, the heliocentric Earth ecliptic (HEE) system, and the heliocentric Earth equatorial (HEEQ) system.
The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system in spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its center, the primary direction aligned with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the fundamental plane parallel to an approximation of the galactic plane but offset to its north.
For instance, the Astronomical Almanac for 2010 lists the apparent geocentric position of the Moon on January 1 at 00:00:00.00 Terrestrial Time, in equatorial coordinates, as right ascension 6 h 57 m 48.86 s, declination +23° 30' 05.5". Implied in this position is that it is as projected onto the celestial sphere; any observer at any location ...
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 equatorial coordinate system uses the celestial equator.
The primary elements of spherical astronomy are celestial coordinate systems and time. The coordinates of objects on the sky are listed using the equatorial coordinate system, which is based on the projection of Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere.