Concept in Definition ABC

The word zenith has several spellings, such as zenith or zenith. As for its etymological origin, it comes from Arabic. With respect to its meaning, the zenith is the exact point of the celestial vault located above the head of an observer, that is, in its vertical. In this sense, two things must be specified:

1) in ancient times the Earth was considered to be in the central part of a sphere, which presented a visible part and another not depending on the observer's hemisphere (the visible part was called "celestial vault") and

2) in Arab culture medieval astronomical knowledge developed and it was Arab scientists who promoted the knowledge of the celestial bodies and introduced terms such as zenith or, its point diametrically otherwise, nadir.

The zenith and our position on Earth

If the zenith is the point of the celestial sphere with respect to the position of an observer, this means that each individual position has a certain zenith (the zenith of a person living in Madrid is different from the one living in New York). If there is a place called the zenith for each observer, this also implies that under the observer himself there is another position opposite the zenith.

The opposite place is the nadir and refers to the part of the celestial sphere that extends below our horizon

Whether we refer to the zenith or the nadir, it should be noted that these points are part of the coordinates of the sphere or celestial vault, which is an imaginary sphere in which the Earth is in the center. In this way, the celestial North Pole and South Pole correspond to the intersection of the polar axis with respect to the celestial sphere.

From the point of view of an observer, when we look at the sky we perceive a species of immense dome above us and at the base of the dome is the horizon. Is visual perception This is what allows us to explain that in ancient times it was understood that the Earth was the center of the universe, which is strictly known as theory geocentric of the universe.

Another sense of the term

The word zenith has an astronomical meaning and, at the same time, is used in the language daily life through a locution, specifically reaching the zenith. Thus, a person reaches the zenith of him when he achieves the maximum splendor or apogee within his activity. Let us think of an athlete who is in the best moment of his race.

Faced with this successful situation, it could be said that such an athlete has reached his zenith, that is, the greatest possible glory. With this phrase the triumph of someone is emphasized and it is implied that it is very difficult to obtain a recognition higher.

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