The celestial equator ties our planet to constellations. Humans perceive the horizon from the ground, so it appears curved to our naked eye.
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The celestial equator is an imaginary line in the sky that represents the projection of Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere. It divides the sky into northern and southern hemispheres. The horizon, on the other hand, is the line where the sky meets the Earth's surface when viewed from a specific location, forming the boundary between the visible sky and the ground.
At the equator, the celestial north pole would be north, just at the horizon. In the southern hemisphere, for instance in Australia, the north celestial pole would be north, and as many degrees BELOW the horizon as your latitude. For instance, if you are 10 degrees south of the equator, the celestial north pole would be 10 degrees below the equator.On the other hand, for people in the southern hemisphere, the celestial SOUTH pole would be ABOVE the horizon; this same pole is below the horizon for anybody in the northern hemisphere.
The North Celestial Pole would lie on the northern horizon if you were located on the Earth's equator and observing the nighttime sky. This means that Polaris, the North Star, would be right at the horizon.
Altitude of a celestial body is the angular distance between the horizon and the body when viewed from a specific location on Earth. It is measured in degrees and ranges from 0° at the horizon to 90° at the zenith, directly overhead.
The celestial equator is not visible from the North or South Poles because it lies parallel to Earth's equator. At these extreme latitudes, the celestial equator is located at the horizon, making it impossible to see from those locations.
The angle of the celestial north pole above the horizon in Frankfurt, Germany is approximately 50.1 degrees. This means that the North Star (Polaris) would appear about 50.1 degrees above the northern horizon in Frankfurt.