Altazimuth coordinate system (ăltăz`əməth) or horizon coordinate system, astronomical coordinate system in which the position of a body on the celestial sphere is described relative to an observer's celestial horizon and zenith. The coordinates of a body in this system are its altitude and azimuth. Altitude is measured from the celestial horizon along the vertical circle through the body and the zenith of the observer. Azimuth is measured along the celestial horizon from the observer's south point (the point on the horizon directly south of him) to the point where the body's vertical circle intersects the horizon. Because the earth rotates on its axis, the altitude and azimuth of a celestial body are constantly changing.
Online Encyclopedia Blog For Kid's Research In Sciences, Health, Environment and Technology
POPULAR POSTS
-
The distance between the sun and the earth varies because the earth travels in an elliptical rather than circular orbit. The distance is r...
-
Galaxy, a massive ensemble of hundreds of millions of stars, all gravitationally interacting, and orbiting about a common center. Astronomer...
-
Ecliptic, in astronomy, the apparent great-circle annual path of the sun in the celestial sphere , as seen from the earth . It is so named b...