An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The convention for measuring angles on the sky in astronomy (Abbreviated as PA). It is the direction of an imaginary arrow in the sky, measured from north through east: 0° = north, 90° = east, 180° = south, and so on to 359° and back to 0°. Applied to a binary system it is the direction of a secondary body or feature from a primary, measured in the system. .

See also: → position; → angle.