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The longitude of the ascending node, also known as the right ascension of the ascending node, is one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space. Denoted with the symbol Ω , it is the angle from a specified reference direction, called the origin of longitude , to the direction of the ascending node (☊), as ...
In the case of objects outside the Solar System, the ascending node is the node where the orbiting secondary passes away from the observer, and the descending node is the node where it moves towards the observer. [5], p. 137. The position of the node may be used as one of a set of parameters, called orbital elements, which
A lunar node is either of the two orbital nodes of the Moon, that is, the two points at which the orbit of the Moon intersects the ecliptic. The ascending (or north) node is where the Moon moves into the northern ecliptic hemisphere, while the descending (or south) node is where the Moon enters the southern ecliptic hemisphere.
For a typical prograde orbit around Earth (that is, in the direction of primary body's rotation), the longitude of the ascending node decreases, that is the node precesses westward. If the orbit is retrograde, this increases the longitude of the ascending node, that is the node precesses eastward.
The longitude of the ascending node, Ω, the inclination, i, and the argument of periapsis, ω, or the longitude of periapsis, ϖ, specify the orientation of the orbit in its plane. Either the longitude at epoch, L 0 , the mean anomaly at epoch, M 0 , or the time of perihelion passage, T 0 , are used to specify a known point in the orbit.
Parametrically, ω is the angle from the body's ascending node to its periapsis, measured in the direction of motion. For specific types of orbits, terms such as argument of perihelion (for heliocentric orbits ), argument of perigee (for geocentric orbits ), argument of periastron (for orbits around stars), and so on, may be used (see apsis for ...
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Right ascension and declination as seen on the inside of the celestial sphere.The primary direction of the system is the March equinox, the ascending node of the ecliptic (red) on the celestial equator (blue).