Time, coordinate systems and

spherical astronomy

IWAA 2018.
 Time in astronomy

• Julian day JD (continuous count of days since the

beginning of the Julian Period - January 1 4713 BC)
September 1 2018 AD at 00:00 UT = 2458362.5
• Modified Julian Date (MJD)
MJD = JD - 2400000.5 (0h Nov 17 1858)
• Epoch
 Time in astronomy

• (apparent) solar time

• mean (average) solar time
• zone time (daylight saving time)
• universal time UT (continuation of Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT)), UT1, UTC
• Earth Rotation Angle (ERA) q (tu)
• terestial time TT (time scale free of the irregularities in the
rotation of Earth)
• DT = TT - UT1
• sidereal time ST (= hour angle of vernal equinox), GMST,
GAST, LMST, LAST
 Earth: rotation and revolution

• rotation: 1 sidereal day = 23h56m4,1s

1 solar day = 24h
• revolution: 1 sidereal year = 365,25636 days
1 tropical year = 365,24219 days
• obliquity of the ecliptic: e = 23,4°
 Celestial sphere

• Abstract sphere with an infinite radius concentric to Earth /

observer. All objects in the sky are projected on inner surface
of the celestial sphere.
• Celestial sphere is practical tool for spherical astronomy as we
can specify the apparent positions of objects in the sky.
 Geographic coordinate system

• Positon of any location on the Earth surface can be specified by

set of coordinates - geographic latitude j (angular distance
from Earth’s equator) and geographic longitude l (angular
distance from prime meridian).
• Analogically, on celestial sphere, position of any celestial body
can be also specified by set of coordinates.
 Coordinate systems in astronomy
according to location of observer

• Geocentric - origin: center of the Earth

• Topocentric - origin: location on Earth’s surface
• Heliocentric - origin: center of the Sun
• Barycentric - origin: barycenter of the Solar system
...
• International Celestial Reference System (ICRS)
• Barycentric celestial reference system (BCRS)
• International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS)
 Horizontal coordinate system
(altazimuth system)
• fundamental plane: horizon
• azimuth a (0° to 360° from south point around to the west)
• altitude (elevation) h (-90° to 90°)
or zenith distance z (0° to 180°) (complement of altitude)
• zenith - pole of the upper hemisphere
• nadir - pole of the lower hemisphere
• local meridian - great circle passing through the south point,
zenith and north point
Horizontal coordinate system
(altazimuth system)
 Local equatorial coordinate system

• fundamental plane: celestial equator

• hour angle HA (0h to 24h from south around to the west)
• declination d (-90° to 90°)
• celestial pole - point on celestial sphere with declination equals
90° (north) or -90° (south)
Local equatorial coordinate system

t = HA
Celestial equatorial coordinate system

• fundamental plane: celestial equator

• right ascension a (0h to 24h from the vernal equinox to the hour
circle passing through the object around in the same direction as
apparent movement of the Sun)
• declination d (-90° to 90°)
• vernal equinox - intersection of ecliptic and Earth’s equator where
the Sun passes from southern to the northen part of celestial
sphere
• sidereal time (ST) - hour angle of vernal equinox
Celestial equatorial coordinate system
 Ecliptic coordinate system

• fundamental plane: ecliptic

• ecliptic longitude (celestial longitude) l or l (0° to 360° from
vernal equinox around in the same direction as apparent
movement of the Sun / Earth)
• ecliptic latitude (celestial latitude) b or b (-90° to 90°)
• distance D or r
Ecliptic coordinate system
 Galactic coordinate system

• fundamental plane: approximation of the galactic plane

• primary direction: approximate center of the Milky Way galaxy
• galactic longitude l (0° to 360° eastward along the galactic
equator from the galactic center)
• galactic latitude b (-90° to 90°)
Galactic coordinate system
 Heliographic coordinate system

• fundamental plane: equator of the Sun

• heliographic latitude B (-90° to 90°)
• heliographic longitude L (0° to 360°) along direction of
Sun’s rotation
• B0 - apparent heliographic latitude of the centre of the
Solar disc
• L0 - apparent heliographic longitude of the centre of the
Solar disc
• P - positional angle (apparent angle between equatorial
planes of the Earth and the Sun, measured estwards from
the North Point of the solar disk
Sun
Sun
 Spherical trigonometry
sin a sin b sin c
• law of sines:  
sin A sin B sin C
• law of cosines: cosa=cosb cosc+sinb sinc cosA
 Spherical trigonometry

• distance between two points

cosDr = sinf2sinf1+cosf2cosf1cos(l2-l1)

DX  cosf2 cos l2  cosf1 cos l1

DY  cosf2 sin l2  cosf1 sin l1
DZ  sin f2  sin f1 aproximation for small angles
C  DX 2  DY 2  DZ 2
 f  f 
2

Dr   l2  l1   cos  2 1    f2  f1 
2
C
Dr  2arcsin  2 
2 
 Example 1

• Calculate distance between two stars.

a1 = 5h56m; d1 = 7°25’
a2 = 5h26m; d2 = 6°22’

• using cosDr = sind2sind1+cosd2cosd1cos[(a2-a1)·15]

Dr  7°31’10”

• using aproximate method

 d 2  d1  
2

Dr  a 2  a1  15  cos     2 1  = 7°37'34"
 d  d
2

  2 
 Example 2

• At the moment of observing Greenwich sidereal time was

GST = 3h20m. Geographical latitude of observer was
j = 43°. Measured altitude of the star (a = 4h20m) at the
moment of crossing local meridian is h = 30°. Sketch and
determine:
a) zenith distance of the star (z)
b) declination of the star (d)
c) hour angle of the star (HA)
d) local sidereal time (LST)
e) geographical longitude of observer (l)
 Example 2
Z

NP
j Zvijezda

d
z

j h

a) z = 90° - h = 60°
b) 90° - j =47°
d = 30° - 47° = -17°
c) HA = 0
d) a = LST = 4h 20min
e) l = LST - GST = 1h = 15° E
 Example 3
• Measured upper culmination altitude of the star Dubhe
(a = 11h 04m; d = 61°39') is 81°06'. Because of daylight it
was impossible to measure altitude of lower culmination,
but it was noticed that positions of both, upper and lower
culminations are on the northen side of zenith. For Dubhe
calculate altitude of lower culmination, and geographical
latitude of observer. Determine time of lower culmination
if is known that upper culmination was at 23h 50min.
j = d +hg - 90°
j = (61°39’ + 81°06’) - 90° = 52°45’
hd = j - (90° - d)
hd = 52°45’ - (90° - 61°39’) = 24°24’
td =tg+(23h56m)/2 = 23h50m + 11h58m = 35h48m - 24h = 11h48m
 Example 4
• Derive relations between celestial equatorial and ecliptical
coordinate systems.
sin  90  b  sin  90  d 

sin  90  a  sin  90  l 
cos b cos d
 
cos a cos l
cos  90  b   cos  90  d  cos e 
 sin  90  d  sin e cos  90  a 
 sin b  sin d cos e  cos d sin e sin a
 Example 5
• Derive relations between local equatorial and horizontal
coordinate systems.
sin  90  d  sin  90  h 

sin 180  A sin H
cos d cos h
 
sin A sin H
cos  90  d   cos  90  j  cos  90  h  
 sin  90  j  sin  90  h  cos 180  A
 sin d  sin j sin h  cos j cos h cos A
 Example 6
• Estimate date when azimuth of the sunset point is 100°.
Geographical latitude of observer location at sea level is
46° N.
A - 90° sunset
sin  90  A
W
sin l 90°-j

sin e sin  90  j  l
 cos A cos j e
 sin l 
sin e
^
 l1  17,6085; l2  162,3915

l
Dt  365, 2422 
360
Dt1  17,36d   7.4.
Dt2  164,75d   2.9.
 Example 7
• Calculate geometric geocentric equatorial coordinates of the Sun on
Sep 1st 2018 14:00 TDB. Equatorial barycentric coordinates are:
XSun = 25 692 km
YSun = 983 493 km
ZSun = 413 247 km
XEarth = 140 809 648 km
YEarth = -49 035 181 km
ZEarth = -21 270 113 km
• XGeo = XSun - XEarth = -140 783 956 km
YGeo = YSun - YEarth = 50 018 674 km
ZGeo = YSun - ZEarth = 21 683 360 km

 Ygeo   Z geo 
a  arctg   160.44054829 d  arctg    8.257737114
 X   X geo
2
 2 
 geo   Ygeo 
a  10h 41m 45.7s d  8°15'27.8"
 Example 8
• Position and enlarged drawing of the Moon (dark part is in
shadow) is shown on the sky map. Estimate geographic
latitude, date and local time. For calculation you can use
average Moon-Earth and Sun-Earth distances.
GST = 16h19m.

• j = 35°N
• aMoon = 23h30m = 352,5°

xlight
phase   0,366
d Moon
  arccos  2  phase  1  105,55
 Example 8
d ES d
 EM    0,141721
sin    sin   
Dl  180      74,31
a Mj
lS   Dl  66,1
cos  23,5 
365, 2422d
Dt21.3.   66,1  67,06d  67 days
360
 May 27  (67  (31  21  30))

LT  LST  GST  19h 45m  16h19m  3h 26m