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Chapter 2: Problem 9

How many degrees is the angle from the horizon to the zenith? Does your answer depend on what point on the horizon you choose?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The angle from the horizon to the zenith is always 90 degrees, regardless of what point on the horizon one chooses.

Step by step solution

01

Establish basic astronomy/geometry concepts

In astronomy or geometry, when we talk about the horizon, we mean the line at which the earth's surface and the sky appear to meet. The zenith, on the other hand, is the point directly overhead or 90 degrees above the horizon. So, the angle from the horizon to the zenith is 90 degrees for an observer considering the vertical line from their viewing position on Earth up to the sky directly above them.
02

Answer the dependence of the point on horizon

Regardless of what point an observer chooses on the horizon, the angle from that point to the zenith doesn't change. It will always be 90 degrees because the zenith is, by definition, the point directly overhead. Therefore, even if the observer selects a different point on the horizon, the zenith for that observer still remains directly overhead and is a constant 90 degrees from any point on the horizon viewed by that observer.

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