Celestial Equator....

[JohnP]

OK - I'm getting confused - can someone pls confirm that if I look due South from my Garden (Lat approx 51.5 deg N) how high up from my horizon will the Celestial Equator be...? Am I correct in thinking it will be 90-51.5 i.e. approx 38.5 deg up from local horizon....?

Thks,  John

PS - I'm sure Fay or Mac with their GCSE qualifications can help me on this one...

[Mike]

That is correct. The NCP is the same angle above the horizon as your latitude and therefore the celestial equator is 90 degrees further on from that. Or 180 - (90 + 51.5) = 38.5

[JohnP]

Cheers mate - I thought I was going 'mad'.. Also just figured out how to get SMP11 to display it so shouldn't have problem picking suitable star for drift alignment now - John

[Mac]

Thats spot on.

Heres a pic of 22:00 tonight with the celestial equator added.
from 51.5N