Right ascension and declination in the celestial sphere correspond to

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In astronomy, right ascension and declination form a coordinate system for the celestial sphere that mirrors geographic coordinates on Earth, with RA analogous to longitude measured in hours along the celestial equator and Dec analogous to latitude measured north or south of the celestial equator.
Option 1: 'longitude and latitude on the Earth' correctly parallels the celestial pair, since celestial coordinates map directions on the sky in a way that corresponds to how longitude and latitude locate positions on Earth.
Option 2: 'latitude and time on the Earth' mixes a positional measure (latitude) with a temporal quantity (time); time is not a spatial coordinate and does not align with how RA is used to locate objects along the sky.
Option 3: 'longitude and azimuth on the Earth' combines a geographic longitude with azimuth, which is a local compass direction; azimuth depends on the observer’s location and orientation, not a fixed celestial coordinate pair like RA.
Option 4: 'altitude and latitude on the Earth' pairs latitude with altitude, but altitude (or altitude angle) is a local vertical angle, not a fixed celestial coordinate system comparable to RA.
Option 5: 'longitude and hour angle on the Earth' uses hour angle, which is related to local sky position but is not the standard two-coordinate description of the celestial sphere; hour angle depends on time and the observer’s meridian, whereas declination is fixed relative to the celestial equator.

ASTRON 2140 AU2025 (23428) Quiz 1 - 2025 Sep 19

Right ascension and declination in the celestial sphere correspond to

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