Uploaded July 2010 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Equatorial System is used to locate things on the Celestial Sphere, that great bowl of stars that surrounds us. The celestial poles (determined by the rotation of the earth) and the corresponding celestial equator determine one zero point for this system. The other zero point is the Vernal Equinox, where the path of the sun (the Ecliptic) intersects the celestial equator and where the sun happens to be on the first day of spring.
The Equatorial System is used to locate things on the Celestial Sphere, that great bowl of stars that surrounds us. The celestial poles (determined by the rotation of the earth) and the corresponding celestial equator determine one zero point for this system. The other zero point is the Vernal Equinox, where the path of the sun (the Ecliptic) intersects the celestial equator and where the sun happens to be on the first day of spring.
