# Celestial sphere

The imaginary dome of the sky around the Earth, on which the stars appear fixed and turn as the Earth rotates.

Everything in the sky is so far away that it looks painted on a giant sphere. As the Earth turns, that sphere seems to rotate around the celestial poles (near Polaris in the north), carrying the stars from east to west. [Right ascension](https://astropilot.space/glossary/right-ascension) and [declination](https://astropilot.space/glossary/declination) are latitude and longitude on this sphere.

**Related:** [Right ascension](https://astropilot.space/glossary/right-ascension.md), [Declination](https://astropilot.space/glossary/declination.md), [Circumpolar](https://astropilot.space/glossary/circumpolar.md), [Meridian](https://astropilot.space/glossary/meridian.md)

From the AstroPilot astronomy glossary: https://astropilot.space/glossary/celestial-sphere