Definition
The ecliptic is the geometric plane containing the Earth’s orbit. More precisely, it is the average plane of the orbit of the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system. It is also the line delineating the projection of the Earth’s orbital plane onto the celestial sphere. On the sky, the ecliptic is at the middle of the zodiacal belt that extends about 9° on either side and which contains the orbits of all the major planets orbiting the Sun. By extension, the ecliptic is often assimilated to the average plane of the solar system. The term ecliptic also designates the adjective that specifies quantities associated with the ecliptic, for example, ecliptic coordinates.
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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Rouan, D. (2014). Ecliptic. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_478-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_478-2
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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