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Zenith

The zenith is the point in the sky which appears directly above the observer. More precisely, it is the point on the sky with an altitude of +90 Degrees, and it is the pole of the horizontal coordinate system. Geometrically, it is the point on the celestial sphere intersected by a line drawn from the center of the Earth through your location on the Earth's surface. The point opposite the zenith is the nadir.

The zenith is, by definition, a point along the local meridian.

This article originates from Jason Harris' Astroinfo which comes along with KStars, a Desktop Planetarium for Linux/KDE. See http://edu.kde.org/kstars/index.phtml


Zenith may also mean: Zenith Electronics Company, Zenith Data Systems or Zenith Carburetters.


Zenith is also the fictional town that forms the setting for Babbitt, Arrowsmith, and other novels by Sinclair Lewis. It is located in the fictional state of Winnemac, which is bounded by Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana.


"There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it." - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)