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 it was considered that the Earth was in the central part of a sphere, which had a visible part and another not depending on the observer's hemisphere (the visible part was called "celestial vault") and
2) in medieval Arab culture astronomical knowledge developed and it was Arab scientists who promoted the knowledge of the heavenly bodies and introduced terms such as zenith or, its diametrically opposite point, 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 who lives in Madrid is different from the one who lives 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, we must indicate that these points are part of the coordinates of the sphere or celestial dome, 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 kind of immense dome above us and at the base of the dome is the horizon. This visual perception 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 the geocentric theory of the universe.
Another sense of the term
The word zenith has an astronomical meaning and, at the same time, it is used in everyday language through a locution, specifically reaching the zenith. Thus, a person reaches his zenith when he achieves the maximum splendor or apogee within his activity. Let's think about an athlete who is in the best moment of his career.
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 locution the triumph of someone is emphasized and it is implied that it is very difficult to obtain greater recognition.
Photo: iStock - RamCreativ
