declination

astronomy

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declination, in astronomy, the angular distance of a body north or south of the celestial equator. Declination and right ascension, an east-west coordinate, together define the position of an object in the sky. North declination is considered positive and south, negative. Thus, +90° declination marks the north celestial pole, 0° the celestial equator, and -90° the south celestial pole. The usual symbol for declination is the lowercase Greek letter δ (delta).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.