It's very important for us to know exact details about this data so we can keep track of it in our database. If a signal is found this information will allow us to go back to that place in the sky and re-examine the correct part of the radio spectrum to check our results. The first line in this section of the display specifies the location in the sky the data was collected from. This is where the telescope was pointed, or more accurately, the piece of the sky that was over the telescope at the time. On the earth, you need two coordinates, latitude and longitude, to locate a place on the globe.
Right ascension is a little different from longitude.
Longitude is measured east and west from the Greenwich meridian that runs through Greenwich, England. Since it is measured east and west, you can go 180 degrees either way until you reach the international date line on the opposite side of the globe. Right ascension is measured in one direction only, towards the east, and is measured in hours, minutes, and seconds rather than in degrees. There are 24 hours all the way around, each hour being broken into 60 minutes, and each minute being broken into 60 seconds. This links the rotation of the sky to the rotation of the earth very nicely.