The longitude of the ascending node, also known as the right ascension of the ascending node, is one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in space. Denoted with the symbol Ω, it is the angle from a specified reference direction, called the origin of longitude, to the direction of the ascending node (☊), as measured in a specified reference plane.[1] The ascending node is the point where the orbit of the object passes through the plane of reference, as seen in the adjacent image.
- ^ Parameters Describing Elliptical Orbits, web page, accessed May 17, 2007.