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Celestial coordinate system

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In astronomy, a celestial coordinate system is a system for specifying positions of celestial objects:
satellites, planets, stars, galaxies, and so on. Coordinate systems can specify a position in 3-dimensional
space, or merely the direction of the object on the celestial sphere, if its distance is not known or not
important.
The coordinate systems are implemented in either spherical coordinates or rectangular coordinates.
Spherical coordinates, projected on the celestial sphere, are analogous to the geographic coordinate
system used on the surface of the Earth. These differ in their choice of fundamental plane, which divides
the celestial sphere into two equal hemispheres along a great circle. Rectangular coordinates, in
appropriate units, are simply the cartesian equivalent of the spherical coordinates, with the same
fundamental (x,y) plane and primary (x-axis) direction. Each coordinate system is named for its choice
of fundamental plane.

Orientation of Astronomical Coordinates

Contents
A star's

1 Coordinate systems
1.1 Horizontal system
1.2 Equatorial system
1.3 Ecliptic system
1.4 Galactic system
1.5 Supergalactic system
2 Converting coordinates
2.1 Notation
2.2 Hourangleright ascension
2.3 Equatorial ecliptical
2.4 Equatorial horizontal
2.5 Equatorial galactic
2.6 Notes on conversion
3 See also
4 Notes and references
5 External links

Coordinate systems

galactic

(yellow), ecliptic (red) and equatorial (blue)

coordinates, as projected on the celestial sphere.
Ecliptic and equatorial coordinates share the vernal
equinox (magenta) as the primary direction, and
galactic coordinates are referred to the galactic
center (yellow). The origin of coordinates (the
"center of the sphere") is ambiguous; see celestial
sphere for more information.

The following table lists the common coordinate

systems in use by the astronomical community. The
fundamental plane divides the celestial sphere into two equal hemispheres and defines the baseline for
the vertical coordinates, analogous to the equator in the geographic coordinate system. The poles are

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located at 90 from the fundamental plane. The primary direction is the starting point of the horizontal
coordinates. The origin is the zero distance point, the "center of the celestial sphere", although the
definition of celestial sphere is ambiguous about the definition of its center point.
Coordinate Center point Fundamental
plane
(Origin)
system [1]
(0 vertical)

Poles

Coordinates
Vertical

Horizontal
(also called
Alt/Az or
El/Az)

Equatorial

Ecliptic
Galactic

observer

center of the
Earth
(geocentric) /
center of the
Sun
(heliocentric)

horizon

zenith / nadir altitude (a)

or elevation

Supergalactic

Horizontal
azimuth (A)

right
declination ascension ()
or hour angle
()
(h)

celestial
equator

celestial
poles

ecliptic

ecliptic poles

ecliptic
latitude ()

ecliptic
longitude ()

galactic
poles

galactic
latitude (b)

galactic
longitude (l)

center of the
galactic plane
Sun

Primary
direction
(0
horizontal)

north or
south point
of horizon

vernal
equinox

galactic
center

intersection
supergalactic supergalactic
of
supergalactic supergalactic
latitude
longitude supergalactic
plane
poles
plane and
(SGB)
(SGL)
galactic plane

Horizontal system
Main article: Horizontal coordinate system
The horizontal, or altitude-azimuth, system is based on the position of the observer on Earth, which
revolves around its own axis once per sidereal day (23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.091 seconds) in relation
to the "fixed" star background. The positioning of a celestial object by the horizontal system varies with
time, but is a useful coordinate system for locating and tracking objects for observers on earth. It is
based on the position of stars relative to an observer's ideal horizon.

Equatorial system
Main article: Equatorial coordinate system
The equatorial coordinate system is centered at Earth's center, but fixed relative to distant stars and
galaxies. The coordinates are based on the location of stars relative to Earth's equator if it were projected
out to an infinite distance. The equatorial describes the sky as seen from the solar system, and modern
star maps almost exclusively use equatorial coordinates.

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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 by adjusting the telescope's or other instrument's scales so that they match the
equatorial coordinates of the selected object to observe.
Popular choices of pole and equator are the older B1950 and the modern J2000 systems, but a pole and
equator "of date" can also be used, meaning one appropriate to the date under consideration, such as
when a measurement of the position of a planet or spacecraft is made. There are also subdivisions into
"mean of date" coordinates, which average out or ignore nutation, and "true of date," which include
nutation.

Ecliptic system
Main article: Ecliptic coordinate system
The ecliptic system was the principal coordinate system for ancient astronomy and is still useful for
computing the apparent motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets.[2]
The ecliptic system describes the planets' orbital movement around the sun, and centers on the
barycenter of the solar system (i.e. very close to the sun). The fundamental plane is the plane of the
Earth's orbit, called the ecliptic plane. The system is primarily used for computing the positions of
planets and other solar system bodies, as well as defining their orbital elements.

Galactic system
Main article: Galactic coordinate system
The galactic coordinate system uses the approximate plane of our galaxy as its fundamental plane. The
solar system is still the center of the coordinate system, and the zero point is defined as the direction
towards the galactic center. Galactic latitude resembles the elevation above the galactic plane and
galactic longitude determines direction relative to the center of the galaxy.

Supergalactic system
Main article: Supergalactic coordinate system
The supergalactic coordinate system corresponds to a fundamental plane that contains a higher than
average number of local galaxies in the sky as seen from Earth.

Converting coordinates
See also: Euler anglesandRotation matrix
Conversions between the various coordinate systems are given.[3] See the notes before using these
equations.

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Notation
Horizontal coordinates
A - azimuth
a - altitude
Equatorial coordinates
- right ascension
- declination
h - hour angle
Ecliptic coordinates
- ecliptic longitude
- ecliptic latitude
Galactic coordinates
l - galactic longitude
b - galactic latitude
Miscellaneous

o - observer's longitude
o - observer's latitude
- obliquity of the ecliptic
L - local sidereal time
G - Greenwich sidereal time

Hour angle right ascension

or
or

Equatorial ecliptical
The classical equations, derived from spherical trigonometry, for the longitudinal coordinate are
presented to the right of a bracket; simply dividing the first equation by the second gives the convenient
tangent equation seen on the left.[4] The rotation matrix equivalent is given beneath each case.[5] (This
division is lossy because the tan has a period of 180 whereas the cos and sin have periods of 360.)

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Equatorial horizontal
Note that Azimuth (A) is measured from the South point, turning positive to the West.[6] Zenith distance,
the angular distance along the great circle from the zenith to a celestial object, is simply the
complementary angle of the altitude: 90 a.[7]

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[8]

Equatorial galactic
These equations are for converting equatorial coordinates referred to B1950.0. If the equatorial
coordinates are referred to another equinox, they must be precessed to their place at B1950.0 before
applying these formulae.

These equations convert to equatorial coordinates referred to B1950.0.

Notes on conversion
Angles in the degrees ( ), minutes ( ' ), and seconds ( " ) of sexagesimal measure must be
converted to decimal before calculations are performed. Whether they are converted to decimal
degrees or radians depends upon the particular calculating machine or program. Negative angles
must be carefully handled; 10 20' 30" must be converted as 10 20' 30".
Angles in the hours ( h ), minutes ( m ), and seconds ( s ) of time measure must be converted to
decimal degrees or radians before calculations are performed. 1h = 15 1m = 15' 1s = 15"
Angles greater than 360 (2) or less than 0 may need to be reduced to the range 0 - 360 (0 2) depending upon the particular calculating machine or program.
Inverse trigonometric functions arcsine, arccosine and arctangent are quadrant-ambiguous, and
results should be carefully evaluated. Use of an equation which finds the tangent, followed by the

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second arctangent function (ATN2 or ATAN2), is recommended when calculating longitude/right

ascension/azimuth. An equation which finds the sine, followed by the arcsin function, is
recommended when calculating latitude/declination/altitude.
Azimuth (A) is referred here to the south point of the horizon, the common astronomical
reckoning. An object on the meridian to the south of the observer has A = h = 0 with this usage.
In navigation and some other disciplines, azimuth is figured from the north.
The equations for altitude (a) do not account for atmospheric refraction.
The equations for horizontal coordinates do not account for diurnal parallax, that is, the small
offset in the position of a celestial object caused by the position of the observer on the Earth's
surface. This effect is significant for the Moon, less so for the planets, minute for stars or more
distant objects.
Observer's longitude (o) here is measured positively westward from the prime meridian; this is
contrary to current IAU standards.

See also

Azimuth
Celestial sphere
Orbital elements
Spherical coordinate system

Notes and references

1. ^ Majewski, Steve. "Coordinate
Systems" (http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/majewski/astr551/lectures/COORDS/coords.html) . UVa
Department of Astronomy. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
2. ^ Aaboe, Asger. 2001 Episodes from the Early History of Astronomy. New York: Springer-Verlag., pp. 1719.
3. ^ Meeus, Jean (1991). Astronomical Algorithms. Willmann-Bell, Inc., Richmond, VA. ISBN0-943396-352., chap. 12
4. ^ U.S. Naval Observatory, Nautical Almanac Office; H.M. Nautical Almanac Office (1961). Explanatory
Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac. H.M.
Stationery Office, London., sec. 2A
5. ^ U.S. Naval Observatory, Nautical Almanac Office (1992). In P. Kenneth Seidelmann. Explanatory
Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac. University Science Books, Mill Valley, CA. ISBN0-935702-687., section 11.43
6. ^ Montenbruck, Oliver; Pfleger, Thomas (2000). Astronomy on the Personal Computer. Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN978-3-540-67221-0.,pp 35-37
7. ^ U.S. Naval Observatory, Nautical Almanac Office; U.K. Hydrographic Office, H.M. Nautical Almanac
Office (2008). The Astronomical Almanac for the Year 2010. U.S. Govt. Printing Office. p. M18. ISBN9780160820083.
8. ^ Depending on the azimuth convention in use, the signs of cosA and sinA appear in all four different
combinations. Karttunen et al., Taff and Roth define A clockwise from the south. Lang defines it north
through east, Smart north through west. Meeus (1991), p. 89: sin = sin sin a cos cos a cos A;
Explanatory Supplement (1961), p.26:sin = sin a sin + cos a cos A cos .

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Smart, William Marshall (1949). Text-book on spherical astronomy. Cambridge University Press.
Bibcode:1965tbsa.book.....S (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1965tbsa.book.....S) .
Lang, Kenneth R. (1978). Astrophysical Formulae. Springer. Bibcode:1978afcp.book.....L
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1978afcp.book.....L) . ISBN3-540-09064-9.
Taff, L. G. (1980). Computational spherical astronomy. Wiley. Bibcode:1981csa..book.....T
(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1981csa..book.....T) .
Karttunen, H.; Krger, P.; Oja, H.; Poutanen, M.; Donner, H. J. (2006). Fundamental Astronomy.
Bibcode:2003fuas.book.....K (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2003fuas.book.....K) . ISBN978-3540-34143-7.
Roth, G. D. Handbuch fr Sternenfreunde. Springer. ISBN3-540-19436-3.

External links
NOVAS (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/software/novas/novas_info.php) , the U.S. Naval Observatory's
(http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/) Vector Astrometry Software, an integrated package of
subroutines and functions for computing various commonly needed quantities in positional
astronomy.
SOFA (http://www.iausofa.org/) , the IAU's (http://www.iau.org/) Standards of Fundamental
Astronomy, an accessible and authoritative set of algorithms and procedures that implement
standard models used in fundamental astronomy.
This article was originally based on Jason Harris' Astroinfo, which comes along with KStars, a
KDE Desktop Planetarium (http://edu.kde.org/kstars/) for Linux/KDE.
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