Astronomy Terms and Definitions

Outer planets orbit Earths orbit Inner planets orbit

Conjunction

Superior Conjunction

EAST
Greatest eastern elongation

Sun Greatest western elongation

WEST

Inferior Conjunction

Eastern Quadrature

Earth

Western Quadrature

Opposition

Celestial Sphere

North Celestial Pole

Celestial Equator

The Celestial Sphere is an imaginary sphere of infinite radius centred on the Earth, on which all celestial bodies are assumed to be projected.

South Celestial Pole

Ecliptic
The Ecliptic is the path the Sun traces through the sky during one year.

Celestial Equator

The Ecliptic

While in reality the Earth orbits around the Sun, it seems from the Earth that the Sun moves through the sky.

Vernal and Autumnal Equinox

Celestial Equator Vernal Equinox

The Ecliptic
0

The Vernal Equinox is the point where the Sun crosses the Celestial Equator, moving from south to north. This occurs in March and marks the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere . The Autumnal Equinox occurs in September, when the Sun enters the Southern hemisphere.

Right Ascension

RA is the celestial equivalent of terrestrial longitude. For RA, the zero point is known as the First Point of Aries, which is the place in the sky where the Sun crosses the celestial equator at the Vernal Equinox. RA is measured eastward from the equinox in hours, minutes, and seconds, with 24 hours being equivalent to a full circle.

East

0 hr

1 hr

2 hr

Declination

Celestial Equator

Declination is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being Right Ascension.
Dec is comparable to latitude, projected onto the celestial sphere, and is measured in degrees north and south of the celestial equator. Points north of the celestial equator have positive declinations, while those to the south have negative declinations.

Summer and Winter Solstice

Celestial Equator

The Winter Solstice

0

The Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice is the time in June when the Sun is over the Tropic of Cancer. At the winter Solstace in December, the sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn.

Longest and shortest days

On the day of the solstice the Sun appears to have reached its highest (in summer) or lowest (in winter) annual altitude in the sky above the horizon at local solar noon. The day of the solstice is either the longest or shortest day of the year for any place outside of the tropics.

Zodiac

Ecliptic

Celestial Equator

The Zodiac denotes an annual cycle of twelve stations along the ecliptic, the apparent path of the sun across the heavens through the constellations that divide the ecliptic into twelve equal zones of celestial longitude

Zodiacal Constellations

Precession

The North star Polaris is presently overhead the North Pole

Precession refers to a change in the direction of the Earths axis, and its effects on astronomical observation. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, the vernal equinox moves through all the constellations of the Zodiac over the 26,000 year precession period. Presently the vernal equinox is in the constellation Pisces and is slowly approaching Aquarius.

Zenith
The zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location . It is the highest point reached by a celestial body during its apparent orbit around a given point of observation.

Zenith

Horizon

Nadir
The Nadir is the point directly below the observer

Nadir

Meridian

South

Zenith

Meridian

In the sky, a meridian is an imaginary great circle on the celestial sphere. It passes through the north point on the horizon, through the celestial pole, up to the Zenith directly overhead, through the south point on the horizon, and through the Nadir, and is perpendicular to the local horizon. The upper meridian is the half above the horizon, the lower meridian is the half below it.

North

Occultation

Regulus

Occultation of Saturn and Regulus Saturn

An Occultation occurs when one moving celestial object moves in front of another

Circumpolar Stars

Non Circumpolar Star

A circumpolar star is a star that, as viewed from a given latitude on Earth, never sets below the horizon, due to its proximity to one of the celestial poles. Circumpolar stars are therefore visible from that location for the entire night on every night of the year

Polaris

Circumpolar Star

Horizon

Meridian

Culmination
Culmination is the time when a star or planet appears on an observer's meridian. During a sidereal day, an astronomical object will cross the meridian twice: once at its upper culmination, when it is at its highest point as seen from the earth, and once at its lower culmination, its lowest point. Often, culmination is used to mean upper culmination Upper Culmination

Polaris

Lower Culmination

Ellipse

An ellipse is a flattened circle, obtained as the intersection of a cone with a plane. All planets, moons and comets move in elliptical orbits.

Eccentricity
Eccentricity = 0 (Circle)

Eccentricity = 0.5

Eccentricity = 0.9

The shape of an ellipse can be expressed by a number called the eccentricity of the ellipse. The eccentricity is a number between 1 and 0, and determines how flattened the ellipse is. A value of 0 gives a perfect circle.

Aphelion and Perihelion

Perihelion

Aphelion
The point on its orbit when the Earth is closest to the sun, Occurs in January The point on its orbit when the Earth is farthest from the sun.

The Earths elliptical orbit around the Sun

Occurs in July

Apogee and Perigee

The Moon orbits the earth in am elliptical orbit. Apogee is the point when it is most distant from the Earth

Apogee

Perigee
Perigee is the closest point to the earth and it is in this stage that the moon appears larger.

Conjunction

A conjunction occurs at the instant when the two bodies have the same right ascension.
In other words, they are crossing the same meridian and appear close together.

Earth

Venus

Sun
Mars and Venus at conjunction

Appulse

Jupiter

Venus

Appulse refers to the closest approach of two planets together in the sky, or of the Moon to a star or planet as seen by an observer located on Earth. An appulse usually occurs around the time the planets are in conjunction.

Superior Conjunction

Sun

Venus at Superior Conjunction

Earth

A Superior Conjunction occurs when the Earth and the planet are on opposite sides of the Sun.

Inferior Conjunction

Sun
Venus at inferior conjunction Earth

An Inferior Conjunction occurs when the Earth and the planet are on the same side of the Sun. This occurs only with the interior planets, Mercury and Venus

Opposition

Venus

Sun
Earth

Venus and Mars at opposition

Opposition is a term used to indicate when one celestial body is on the opposite side o the sky when viewed from a particular place.

Two planets are in opposition to each other when their ecliptic longitudes differ by 180

Planets in Opposition
Mars at opposition

Earth

Sun

A planet is said to be "in opposition" when it is in opposition to the Sun as seen from the Earth. This occurs only in superior planets, and is the best time to observe them. At this point of its orbit it is roughly closest to the Earth, making it appear bigger and brighter. The half of the planet visible from Earth is completely illuminated.

Maximum Elongation

Elongation is an astronomical term that refers to the angle between the Sun and a planet, as viewed from Earth. When an inferior planet is visible after sunset, it is near its greatest eastern elongation. When an inferior planet is visible before sunrise, it is near its greatest western elongation.

Sun

e
Earth Venus at maximum elongation

The value of the greatest elongation for Mercury is 28; and for Venus 47. This value varies because the orbits of the planets are elliptical, rather than perfect circles.

Transits and Occultations

A transit occurs when an apparently smaller body passes in front of an apparently larger one.

An occultation occurs when an apparently larger body passes in front of an apparently smaller one

In the combined case where the smaller body regularly transits the larger object, an occultation is also termed a secondary eclipse.

Eclipses

Solar eclipse

Lunar eclipse

An eclipse occurs when a body disappears or partially disappears from view, either by an occultation, as with a solar eclipse, or by passing into the shadow of another body, as with a lunar eclipse

Sidereal Day
Earth points towards same distant star overhead

One sidereal day = 23 h 5

Distant star overhead

Earth points towards a distant star overhead

A Sidereal Day is the length of time which passes between a given "fixed" star in the sky crossing the meridian

Solar Day

Earth points towards Sun overhead again

1 Solar Day = 24 hrs

Earth points towards Sun overhead

The length of time which passes between the Sun reaching its highest point in the sky two consecutive times

Obliquity

Perpendicular to Orbit

North Celestial Pole

Celestial Equator

Angle of Tilt

Rotational Axis

Orbit Direction

Ecliptic

Obliquity or axial tilt is the inclination angle of a planet's rotational axis in relation to its orbital plane . The Earth has an axial tilt of about 23.44 (23 26).

Seasons
June
Summer in the Northern hemisphere

December
Summer in the Southern hemisphere

The axis is tilted in the same direction throughout a year; however, as the Earth orbits the Sun, the hemisphere tilted away from the Sun will gradually become tilted towards the Sun, and vice versa. This effect is the main cause of the seasons.

Inclination

Orbit of Mars

Ecliptic

Inclination Orbit of Earth

The inclination of the orbit of a planet is the angle between its orbital plane and the orbital plane of the Earth.

The Equation of Time

Sun Dial

The equation of time is the difference, over the course of a year, between time as read from a sundial and a clock in an ideal situation. The sundial can be ahead (fast) by as much as 16 min 33 s (around November 3) or fall behind by as much as 14 min 6 s (around February 12). It is caused by irregularity in the path of the Sun across the sky, due to a combination of the obliquity of the Earth's rotation axis and the eccentricity of its orbit.

The End
If you are not confused then you were not paying attention !!!