Vertical circle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009) |
In astronomy, a vertical circle is a great circle on the celestial sphere that is perpendicular to the horizon. Therefore it passes through the zenith and the nadir. There is a vertical circle for any given azimuth, where azimuth is the angle measured east from the north on the celestial horizon. The vertical circle which is on the east-west direction is called the prime vertical. The vertical circle which is on the north-south direction is called the Local Celestial Meridian (LCM)or Principal Vertical. Vertical circles are part of the Horizontal Co-ordinates system.
 |
This astronomy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
