Position angle a hypothetical binary star with a PA of 135 degrees, that means an imaginary line in the eyepiece drawn from the north celestial pole to the primary (P) would be offset from the secondary (S) such that the NCP-P-S angle would be 135 degrees. When graphing visual binary orbits, the NCP line is traditionally drawn downward—that is, with north at bottom—and PA is measured counterclockwise. Also the direction of the proper motion can for example be given by its position angle. The definition of position angle is also applied to extended objects like galaxies, where it refers to the angle
Angle or "terminal side" is defined by the measure from the initial side in radians, degrees, or turns. With "positive angles" representing rotations toward the positive y-axis and "negative angles" representing rotations toward the negative "y"-axis. When Cartesian coordinates are represented by "standard position", defined by the "x"-axis rightward and the "y"-axis upward, positive rotations are anticlockwise and negative rotations are clockwise. In many contexts, an angle of −"θ" is effectively equivalent to an angle of "one full turn minus "θ"". For example, an orientation represented as −45° is effectively equivalent to an orientation represented as 360° − 45° or 315°.