1,138,568,092 visitors served.
1,138,568,092 visitors served. |
|
 Dictionary/ thesaurus |  Medical dictionary |  Legal dictionary |  Financial dictionary |  Acronyms |  Idioms |  Encyclopedia |  Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
ecliptic |
Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia | 0.13 sec. |
eclipticPath, against the background of stars, that the Sun appears to follow each year as it is orbited by the Earth. It can be thought of as the plane of the Earth's orbit projected onto the celestial sphere. The ecliptic is tilted at about 23.5° with respect to the celestial equator, a result of the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The boost will enalbe Ulysses to leave the ecliptic plane (in which planets orbit the sun) in order to map the sun's polar regions in 1994 and 1995. The spacecraft, built by ESA and launched by NASA, achieved its polar solar orbit using a gravity assist from Jupiter to slingshot the craft into its high-latitude orbit, perpendicular to the ecliptic plane where the planets orbit the sun. Astronomers have observed that most shorter-period comets, which streak past Earth at least once every 200 years, seem to lie in the same ecliptic plane as the solar system and orbit the sun in the same direction as the planets. |
 |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Browser extension |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|
|---|
Disclaimer |
Privacy policy |
Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Ecliptic plane
