(Description) Figure 11 The celestial sphere. The RA and Dec coordinates specify the unique position of each celestial object. Importantly, these coordinates are defined relative to the sky and not the surface of the Earth, and so do not change as the Earth rotates.

Week 1: The night sky

View all sections of the document

The celestial sphere. The RA and Dec coordinates specify the unique position of each celestial object. Importantly, these coordinates are defined relative to the sky and not the surface of the Earth, and so do not change as the Earth rotates.

3.3 Equatorial celestial coordinates – right ascension and declination