• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Space / How Do Astronomers Locate Stars On a Celestial Globe Using Declination and Right Ascension?

How Do Astronomers Locate Stars On a Celestial Globe Using Declination and Right Ascension?

March 10, 2020 by Karen Hill

A celestial globe is marked with imaginary vertical and horizontal lines called declination (dec) and right ascension (RA).

These lines correspond to latitude and longitude lines on a terrestrial globe.

Just as you can locate a town by finding the intersection of its latitude and longitude, Sonora, Texas, sits approximately at 30° north latitude and 100° west longitude, you can find a star at the intersection of its declination and right ascension.

The star Arcturus is at 14 hours, 15 minutes, 40 seconds RA, 19°11′ north (or +19°11′) dec.

In the Aristotelic and Ptolemaic models, the celestial sphere was imagined as a physical reality rather than a geometrical projection.

A celestial globe is also known as an armillary sphere.

Related Facts

  • How Is a Star’s Declination Determined and How Do Astronomers Use Declination To Locate a Star In the Sky?
  • What Is Right Ascension and How Do Astronomers Determine a Star’s Right Ascension Using the Celestial Equator?
  • How Do You Use Your Specific Location on Earth To Reference Your Position On a Celestial Globe?
  • What Is a Celestial Globe, Who Invented the Armillary Sphere, and What Does Armillary Mean In Latin?
  • What Is a Celestial Sphere and How Is the Celestial Sphere Important In Positional Astronomy?
  • What Is the Celestial Horizon and How Is the Celestial Horizon Different Depending On Your Location?

Filed Under: Space

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Is Right Ascension and How Do Astronomers Determine a Star’s Right Ascension Using the Celestial Equator?
Next Post: What Is a Celestial Globe, Who Invented the Armillary Sphere, and What Does Armillary Mean In Latin? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy