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right ascension

noun

Definitions

  1. The angular distance east of the vernal point (“the solar zenith at the March equinox”)

    The angular distance east of the vernal point (“the solar zenith at the March equinox”); the celestial equivalent of longitude.

    • The sun's right ascension in time is useful to the practical astronomer in regular observatories, who adjusts his clock by sidereal time.
    • 1988, Peter Duffett-Smith, Practical Astronomy with Your Calculator, page 35, The hour-angle, H, and the right ascension, α, are related by the simple formula H = LST − α, where LST is the local sidereal time.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for right ascension. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA