Glossary - The Stones and the Stars: Building Scotland's Newest Megalith - page 304

Ecliptic Poles The two points in the sky 90° away from the ecliptic in
ecliptic latitude. The north ecliptic pole is in the constellation Draco,
near Boötes.
Equatorial Coordinates Terrestrial latitude and longitude, projected
onto the celestial sphere. The position of a celestial body measured in
declination and right ascension, q.v.
Equinoxes 'Equal nights.' The two dates in the year, around March 21
and September 21, when the Sun is overhead on the equator and day and
night are equal in length all over the world.
Foresight Confusingly, a distant feature marking the position of a hori-
zon event such as the rising of a bright star; by analogy with the foresight
at the front end of a rifle barrel.
Galactic Center The center of the Milky Way galaxy, occupied by the
radio source Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole with about 4 mil-
lion times the mass of our Sun.
Galactic Coordinates The position of a celestial body measured in de-
grees and minutes along, and above and below, the galactic equator as
viewed from our current position (see below).
Galactic Equator The center line of the Milky Way, passing through the
galactic center, as viewed from our current position north of the central
plane of the galaxy. So, terrestrial-galactic coordinates do not correspond
exactly to the true bearings of objects measured from the galactic center,
especially for 'nearby' objects; but galactic coordinates measured at those
nearby objects would virtually coincide with those measured here.
Gegenschein (Counterglow) An apparent concentration of the zodiacal
light, q.v., at the point directly opposite to the Sun's position on the ce-
lestial sphere.
Geocentric Coordinates Celestial coordinates corrected for horizontal
parallax at Earth's surface, q.v.
Gleniffer Braes Hills overlooking Glasgow on the southwest, over Pais-
ley and Glasgow Airport.
Grooved Ware Flat-bottomed Neolithic pottery decorated by winding a
cord around the wet clay object before firing, found particularly at wood-
en henge sites.
Henge A circular monument enclosed by a ditch and bank. Thom was
most insistent that a henge should not have a central feature such as a
standing stone, but other writers are less punctilious.