Astronomy 1021 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Celestial Equator, Azimuth, Milankovitch Cycles

• School: Western University
• Department: Astronomy
• Course: Astronomy 1021
• Professor: Reynold Silber

Document Summary

Latitude: position north or south of the equator. Longitude: position east or west of prime meridian. Note: older versions of textbook use azimuth instead of direction . Horizon: the boundary line dividing the ground and the sky. Zenith: the highest point in the sky, directly overhead. Meridian: the semicircle extending from the horizon due north to the zenith to the horizon due south. Constellation: a section of the sky based on groups of stars that form patterns that suggested shapes to the cultures of the people who named them. A full circle is 360 : degrees are subdivided into arcminutes and arcseconds. We can pinpoint the position of any object in the local sky by stating its direction (azimuth) along the horizon and the altitude of the object above the horizon. 1" = 60 (arcseconds) physical size x 360 degrees. This imaginary sphere is the celestial sphere. North celestial pole: directly above earth"s north pole.