Module 3-Celestial Coor System

Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Bayombong Campus
DEGREE
BSGE COURSE NO. GE 24
PROGRAM
SPECIALIZATION COURSE TITLE GEODETIC ASTRONOMY
YEAR LEVEL 5TH Year TIME FRAME 10 WK NO. 4-5 IM NO. 3
I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

3. Celestial Coordinate System
II. LESSON TITLE

3.1. Celestial coordinate System
3.2. The Horizon System
3.3. Equatorial System
3.4. Hour Angle System
3.5. Time
3.6. Apparent Time
3.7. Sidereal Time
3.8. Mean Solar Time
3.9. Illustrative Problems
II. LESSON OVERVIEW

1. Discuss the concept and relationship of of Celestial Coordinate System.
2. Introduce and familiarize the student with the necessary knowledge of the Different Celestial
Coordinate System
3. Solve Time related problem solving
IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

1. Students Will have demonstrated an advanced understanding and knowledge of the principles of
different Celestial Coordinate System
2. Explain the difference between the solar day and the sidereal day
3. Explain mean solar time and the reason for time zones
4. Students Will have the knowledge and ability to successfully solve related to time problem solving
V. LESSON CONTENT
3.1. Celestial coordinate System
Celestial coordinate systems are used to define the positions of stars on the celestial sphere.
Remembering that the distances to the stars are very great, and in fact can be considered equal
thus allowing us to treat the celestial sphere as a unit sphere, positions are defined by directions
only. One component or curva1inear coordinate is reckoned from a primary reference plane and is
measured perpendicular to it, the other from a secondary reference p1an~· and is measured in the
primary plane. In these notes, two methods of describing positions are given. The first is by a set o
curvilinear coordinates, the second by a unit vector in three dimensional space expressed as a
function of the curvalinear coordinates.
In astronomy, a celestial coordinate system (or celestial reference system) is a system for specifying
positions of satellites, planets, stars, galaxies, and other celestial objects relative to physical
reference points available to a situated observer (e.g. the true horizon and north cardinal direction to
an observer situated on the Earth's surface). Coordinate systems can specify an object's position
in three-dimensional space or plot merely its direction on a celestial sphere, if the object's distance is
unknown or trivial.
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
NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 1 of 12

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
baseline for the latitudinal coordinates, similar to the equator in the geographic coordinate system.
The poles are located at ±90° from the fundamental plane. The primary direction is the starting point
of the longitudinal 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.
The coordinate must be referred to an origin somewhere on the primary and secondary circles.
Direction measured from the origin need to be specified, and positive or negative sign have to be
indicated accordingly.
Different Celestial coordinate system that are adopted and the most common are:
1. Horizon System
2. Equatorial system
3. Local hour Angle System
3.2. The Horizon System
FIGURE 2-4
“HORIZON 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 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.

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
The horizontal coordinate system, also known as topocentric coordinate system, is a celestial
coordinate system that uses the observer's local horizon as the fundamental plane. Coordinates of
an object in the sky are expressed in terms of altitude (or elevation) angle and azimuth.
The horizontal coordinate system is fixed to a location on Earth, not the stars. Therefore, the altitude
and azimuth of an object in the sky changes with time, as the object appears to drift across the sky
with Earth's rotation. In addition, since the horizontal system is defined by the observer's local
horizon, the same object viewed from different locations on Earth at the same time will have different
values of altitude and azimuth.
The primary reference plane is the celestial horizon, the secondary is the observer's celestial
meridian (Figure 2-4). This system is used to describe the position of a celestial body in a system
peculiar to a topographically located observer. The direction to the celestial body S is defined by the
altitude(a) and azimuth (A) (Figure 2-4). The altitude is the angle between the celestial horizon and
the point S measured in the plane of the vertical circle (0° - 90°). The complimentary angle z =90-a,
is called the zenith distance. The azimuth A is the angle between the observer's celestial meridian
and the vertical circle through S measured in a clockwise direction (north to east) in the plane of the
celestial horizon (0° - 360°).
FIGURE 2-5
“HORIZON SYSTEM”
To determine the unit vector of the point S in terms of a and A, we must first define the origin and the
three axes of the coordinate system. The origin is the he1iocentre (centre of mass of the sun [e.g.
Eichorn, 1974). The primary pole (Z) is the observer's zenith (astronomic normal or gravity vertical).
The primary axis (X) is directed towards the north point. The secondary (Y) axis is chosen so that
the system is left-handed (Figure 2-5 illustrates this coordinate system). Note that although the
horizon system is used to describe the position of a celestial body in a system peculiar to a
topographically located observer, the system is heliocentric and not topocentric.

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
3.3. Equatorial System
The equatorial coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system widely used to specify the
positions of celestial objects. It may be implemented in spherical or rectangular coordinates, both
defined by an origin at the centre of Earth, a fundamental plane consisting of the projection of
Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere (forming the celestial equator), a primary direction towards
the vernal equinox, and a right-handed convention.
The latitudinal (latitude-like) angle of the Equatorial system is called Declination (Dec for short). It
measures the angle of an object above or below the Celestial Equator. The longitudinal angle is
called the Right Ascension (RA for short). It measures the angle of an object East of the Vernal
Equinox. Unlike longitude, Right Ascension is usually measured in hours instead of degrees,
because the apparent rotation of the Equatorial coordinate system is closely related to Sidereal
Time and Hour Angle. Since a full rotation of the sky takes 24 hours to complete, there are (360
degrees / 24 hours) = 15 degrees in one Hour of Right Ascension.
This is the preferred coordinate system to pinpoint objects on the celestial sphere. Unlike
the horizontal coordinate system, equatorial coordinates are independent of the observer’s location
and the time of the observation. This means that only one set of coordinates is required for each
object, and that these same coordinates can be used by observers in different locations and at
different times.
The equatorial coordinate system is basically the projection of the latitude and longitude coordinate
system we use here on Earth, onto the celestial sphere. By direct analogy, lines of latitude become
lines of declination (Dec; measured in degrees, arcminutes and arcseconds) and indicate how far
north or south of the celestial equator (defined by projecting the Earth’s equator onto the celestial
sphere) the object lies. Lines of longitude have their equivalent in lines of right ascension (RA), but
whereas longitude is measured in degrees, minutes and seconds east the Greenwich meridian, RA
is measured in hours, minutes and seconds east from where the celestial equator intersects
the ecliptic (the vernal equinox).

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
At first glance, this system of uniquely positioning an object through two coordinates appears easy to
implement and maintain. However, the equatorial coordinate system is tied to the orientation of the
Earth in space, and this changes over a period of 26,000 years due to the precession of the
Earth’s axis. We therefore need to append an additional piece of information to our coordinates –
the epoch. For example, the Einstein Cross (2237+0305) was located at RA = 22h 37m,
Dec = +03o05’ using epoch B1950.0. However, in epoch J2000.0 coordinates, this object is at
RA = 22h 37m, Dec = +03o 21’. The object itself has not moved – just the coordinate system.
The equatorial coordinate system is alternatively known as the ‘RA/Dec coordinate system’ after the
common abbreviations of the two components involved.
3.4. Hour Angle System
FIGURE 2-6 FIGURE 2-7

“HOUR ANGLE SYSTEM”

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
In astronomy and celestial navigation, the hour angle is one of the coordinates used in the equatorial
coordinate system to give the direction of a point on the celestial sphere. The hour angle of a point is
the angle between two planes: one containing Earth's axis and the zenith (the meridian plane), and
the other containing Earth's axis and the given point (the hour circle passing through the point).
The angle may be expressed as negative east of the meridian plane and positive west of the
meridian plane, or as positive westward from 0° to 360°. The angle may be measured in degrees or
in time, with 24h = 360° exactly.
3.5. Time
The measurement of time is based on the rotation of Earth. Throughout most of human history, time
has been reckoned by positions of the Sun and stars in the sky. Only recently have mechanical and
electronic clocks taken over this function in regulating our lives.
The Length of the Day
The most fundamental astronomical unit of time is the day, measured in terms of the rotation of
Earth. There is, however, more than one way to define the day. Usually, we think of it as the rotation
period of Earth with respect to the Sun, called the solar day. After all, for most people sunrise is
more important than the rising time of Arcturus or some other star, so we set our clocks to some
version of Sun-time. However, astronomers also use a sidereal day, which is defined in terms of the
rotation period of Earth with respect to the stars.
A solar day is slightly longer than a sidereal day because (as you can see from Figure 1) Earth not
only turns but also moves along its path around the Sun in a day. Suppose we start when Earth’s
orbital position is at day 1, with both the Sun and some distant star (located in the direction indicated
by the long white arrow pointing left), directly in line with the zenith for the observer on Earth. When
Earth has completed one rotation with respect to the distant star and is at day 2, the long arrow
again points to the same distant star. However, notice that because of the movement of Earth along
its orbit from day 1 to 2, the Sun has not yet reached a position above the observer. To complete a
solar day, Earth must rotate an additional amount, equal to 1/365 of a full turn. The time required for
this extra rotation is 1/365 of a day, or about 4 minutes. So the solar day is about 4 minutes longer
than the sidereal day.
Figure 1: Difference Between a Sidereal Day and a Solar Day. This is a top view, looking down as
Earth orbits the Sun. Because Earth moves around the Sun (roughly 1° per day), after one complete
rotation of Earth relative to the stars, we do not see the Sun in the same position.
Because our ordinary clocks are set to solar time, stars rise 4 minutes earlier each day. Astronomers
prefer sidereal time for planning their observations because in that system, a star rises at the same
time every day.
There are different systems used for the determination of time. For purposes of astronomical
observations, the following are important to understand:
1. Apparent Solar Time 3. Mean Solar Time
2. Sidereal Time` 4. Standard time
All the various kinds of time are basically defined by the hour angle of a heavenly body as measured
from a particular meridian. For example, the time at Greenwich , England is measured with respect
to its meridian, and local time is determined with respect to the local meridian. The time is also
dependent upon the selected heavenly body. It can be apparent or real sun, the vernal equinox, or
fictitious or mean sun.
IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
3.6. Apparent Solar Time
We can define apparent solar time as time reckoned by the actual position of the Sun in the sky (or,
during the night, its position below the horizon). The sun which we called the apparent sun or the
true sun.The true sun starts to appear on the lower branch of the observer’s meridian. The true sun
is said to be its upper transit when the apparent solar time is 12 hours.This is the kind of time
indicated by sundials, and it probably represents the earliest measure of time used by ancient
civilizations. Today, we adopt the middle of the night as the starting point of the day and measure
time in hours elapsed since midnight.
During the first half of the day, the Sun has not yet reached the meridian (the great circle in the sky
that passes through our zenith). We designate those hours as before midday (ante meridiem, or
a.m.), before the Sun reaches the local meridian. We customarily start numbering the hours after
noon over again and designate them by p.m. (post meridiem), after the Sun reaches the local
meridian.
Although apparent solar time seems simple, it is not really very convenient to use. The exact length
of an apparent solar day varies slightly during the year. The eastward progress of the Sun in its
annual journey around the sky is not uniform because the speed of Earth varies slightly in its
elliptical orbit. Another complication is that Earth’s axis of rotation is not perpendicular to the plane of
its revolution. Thus, apparent solar time does not advance at a uniform rate. After the invention of
mechanical clocks that run at a uniform rate, it became necessary to abandon the apparent solar
day as the fundamental unit of time.
3.7. Sidereal Time
Sidereal time vs solar time. Above left: a distant star (the small orange star) and the Sun are at culmination, on
the local meridian m. Centre: only the distant star is at culmination (a mean sidereal day). Right: a few minutes
later the Sun is on the local meridian again. A solar day is complete.
Sidereal time /saɪˈdɪəriəl/ is a timekeeping system that astronomers use to locate celestial objects.
Using sidereal time, it is possible to easily point a telescope to the proper coordinates in the night
sky. Briefly, sidereal time is a "time scale that is based on Earth's rate of rotation measured relative
to the fixed stars".
Viewed from the same location, a star seen at one position in the sky will be seen at the same
position on another night at the same sidereal time. This is similar to how the time kept by
a sundial can be used to find the location of the Sun. Just as the Sun and Moon appear to rise in the
east and set in the west due to the rotation of Earth, so do the stars. Both solar time and sidereal
time make use of the regularity of Earth's rotation about its polar axis, solar time following the Sun
while sidereal time roughly follows the stars.
More exactly, sidereal time is the angle, measured along the celestial equator, from the
observer's meridian to the great circle that passes through the March equinox and both celestial
IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
poles, and is usually expressed in hours, minutes, and seconds.Common time on a typical clock
measures a slightly longer cycle, accounting not only for Earth's axial rotation but also for Earth's
orbit around the Sun.
A sidereal day is approximately 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.0905 seconds (24 hours − 4 minutes +
4.0905 seconds = 86164.0905 s = 23.9344696 h). (Seconds here follow the SI definition and are not
to be confused with ephemeris second.) The March equinox itself precesses slowly westward
relative to the fixed stars, completing one revolution in about 26,000 years, so the misnamed
sidereal day ("sidereal" is derived from the Latin sidus meaning "star") is 0.0084 seconds shorter
than the stellar day, Earth's period of rotation relative to the fixed stars.The slightly longer "true"
sidereal period is measured as the Earth Rotation Angle (ERA), formerly the stellar angle.An
increase of 360° in the ERA is a full rotation of the Earth.
Because Earth orbits the Sun once a year, the sidereal time at any given place and time will gain
about four minutes against local civil time, every 24 hours, until, after a year has passed, one
additional sidereal "day" has elapsed compared to the number of solar days that have gone by.
3.8. Mean Solar Time

Solar time, time measured by Earth’s rotation relative to the Sun. Apparent solar time is that
measured by direct observation of the Sun or by a sundial. Mean solar time, kept by
most clocks and watches, is the solar time that would be measured by observation if the Sun
traveled at a uniform apparent speed throughout the year rather than, as it actually does, at a slightly
varying apparent speed that depends on the seasons. The difference between mean and apparent
solar time is known as the equation of time. This is usually expressed as a correction, never
exceeding 16 minutes, that is added to or subtracted from apparent solar time to determine mean
solar time.
There are two reasons for this. First, the Earth’s orbit is not exactly circular, and the Earth moves in it
at slightly different speeds in different seasons. Second, the Earth’s axis is tilted relative to the plane
of the Earth’s orbit.
Mean solar time is the hour angle of the mean Sun plus 12 hours. This 12 hour offset comes from
the decision to make each day start at midnight for civil purposes whereas the hour angle or the
mean sun is measured from the local meridian.Currently (2009) this is realized with the UT1 time
scale, constructed mathematically from very long baseline interferometry observations of the diurnal
motions of radio sources located in other galaxies, and other observations.The duration of daylight
varies during the year but the length of a mean solar day is nearly constant, unlike that of an
apparent solar day.An apparent solar day can be 20 seconds shorter or 30 seconds longer than a
mean solar day.Long or short days occur in succession, so the difference builds up until mean time
is ahead of apparent time by about 14 minutes near February 6 and behind apparent time by about
16 minutes near November 3. The equation of time is this difference, which is cyclical and does not
accumulate from year to year.
3.9. Illustrative Problems

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021

IM No.: N240 -1STSEM-2020-2021
VI. LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. Assignment
2. Quiz
3. Problem Sets
4. Research
VII. EVALUATION (Note: Not to be included in the student’s copy of the IM)
VIII. ASSIGNMENT
1. Arc and Time Measure. Using the arc and time conversion table, perform the following
conversion:
a.) Express in arc measure a difference in longitude of 2h 39m 44s , 8h 42m 29s,
14h 52m 12s, 20h 40m 35s, and 23h 09m 10s.
b.) Express in time measure a difference in longitude of: 5° 15’ 18”, 13° 38’ 35”,
120° 08’ 20”, 145° 52’ 10” , and 179° 58’ 16”.
2. Longitude and time: Determine Greenwich Civil Time (GCT) when it is

a.) 8:35 AM at 90° West longitude
b.) 10:08 AM at 120° East longitude
c.) 9:39 PM at 150° East longitude
d.) 11:53 PM at 150° West longitude
e.) 7:00 PM at 145° West longitude
IX. REFERENCES
A) Book/Printed Resources
1. La Putt, J.P. Higher Surveying (2nd Edition)
2. Besavilla. Geodetic Engineer’s Manual for Board Examination
3. Besavilla. Geodetic Engineering Computerized Lizensure Exams Geodesy and Cartography
B) Resources
1. https://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/tc_finding.html
2. https://www.coursera.org/lecture/evolvinguniverse/celestial-coordinate-systems-time-systems-
and-earth-rotation-rlfVR
3. https://rashidfaridi.com
4. http://starlink.eao.hawaii.edu/devdocs/sun211
Prepared by:
EFRENJOY AGBISIT-HAWETE
Faculty

Module 3-Celestial Coor System

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Module 3-Celestial Coor System

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE

II. LESSON TITLE

II. LESSON OVERVIEW

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 1 of 12

3.2. The Horizon System

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 2 of 12

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 3 of 12

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 4 of 12

3.4. Hour Angle System

FIGURE 2-6 FIGURE 2-7

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 5 of 12

3.7. Sidereal Time

3.8. Mean Solar Time

3.9. Illustrative Problems

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 8 of 12

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 9 of 12

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 10 of 12

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 11 of 12

2. Longitude and time: Determine Greenwich Civil Time (GCT) when it is

NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 12 of 12

You might also like