Zenith

From Free net encyclopedia

For other uses, see Zenith (disambiguation).

The zenith, in astronomy, is the point in the sky which appears directly above the observer. More precisely, it is the point on the sky with an altitude of +90 degrees, and it is the pole of the horizontal coordinate system. Geometrically, it is the point on the celestial sphere intersected by a line drawn from the center of the Earth through your location on the Earth's surface. The point opposite the zenith is the nadir.

The zenith is, by definition, a point along the local meridian.

Dates when the sun is at an observer's zenith

Vernal Equinox - around March 21 - Equator
Summer Solstice - around June 21 - 23.5 degrees North
Autumnal Equinox - around September 23 - Equator
Winter Solstice - around December 21 - 23.5 degrees South

"Zenith" also means "The Highest Point" so you can use it in a phrase like: The Zenith of land in the world is Mount Everest.

See also zenith distance.

References

This article originates from Jason Harris' Astroinfo which comes along with KStars, a Desktop Planetarium for KDE. See [1] and [2]

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