What term refers to the angular distance of a celestial object above the horizon?

What term refers to the angular distance of a celestial object above the horizon?

• A. Elevation
• B. Azimuth
• C. Declination
• D. Latitude

Answer: (A)

Elevation, also called altitude, is the angular distance of a celestial object above the horizon. It’s the angle measured from the horizon up to the object along the vertical circle that passes through it. At the horizon the elevation is 0 degrees, at the zenith it’s 90 degrees, and when an object is below the horizon the elevation would be negative in some conventions. This is different from azimuth, which describes where something lies along the horizon in terms of compass direction; declination, a coordinate on the celestial sphere, measures how far an object is north or south of the celestial equator; and latitude is a geographic measure of how far north or south you are on Earth. So the angular distance above the horizon is elevation.

Elevation, also called altitude, is the angular distance of a celestial object above the horizon. It’s the angle measured from the horizon up to the object along the vertical circle that passes through it. At the horizon the elevation is 0 degrees, at the zenith it’s 90 degrees, and when an object is below the horizon the elevation would be negative in some conventions. This is different from azimuth, which describes where something lies along the horizon in terms of compass direction; declination, a coordinate on the celestial sphere, measures how far an object is north or south of the celestial equator; and latitude is a geographic measure of how far north or south you are on Earth. So the angular distance above the horizon is elevation.