Declination
|
Declination refers to how far above or below Earth's equator the
Sun appears to travel.
The Sun isn't actually moving anywhere—it only looks that way from our perspective due to
the 23.45° tilt of the Earth's axis.
The Earth's tilt remains the same as it orbits the Sun. When
the north pole is fully tilted toward the Sun, that is the northern Solstice and marks when
the Sun enters the sign of Cancer, and when the Sun is aligned with the latitude called the
Tropic of Cancer. When the south pole is fully tilted toward the Sun, this is the southern
Solstice, when the Sun moves into Capricorn and aligns with the Tropic of Capricorn.
When
the Sun is aligned with the equator, this marks the Equinoxes when the Sun enters
Aries and Libra.
Therefore, there is a limited band within which the Sun can be aligned with the
Earth, and that band extends up to 23.45° north and south of the equator.
Pronounced: DEE-klin-ay-shun or DECK-lin-ay-shun. See also: Out of Bounds,
Solstice, Equinox.
|
|
