How Are Declination and Right Ascension Measured in the Celestial Sphere?

astroboy17 · Jan 25, 2010

I have two questions I cannot figure out:

How is declination measured in the celestial sphere, in comparison with how terrestrial latitude is measure on earth

How is RA measured in the celestial sphere, in comparison with how terrestrial longitude is measure on earth.

Thanks!

mgb_phys · Jan 25, 2010

Declination - degrees (+ve=north) from the equator
RA - is measured from the first point of aries ( where the sun crosses the equator in spring )

It's tricky to descibe without pictures so take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_coordinate_system

How Are Declination and Right Ascension Measured in the Celestial Sphere?

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