|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
ecliptic
ecliptic, from the Greek ekleipsis, disappearance, the apparent path of the sun among the stars which is a great circle inclined to the celestial equator at an angle of about 2° 27′. It is so named because, for an eclipse of the sun or moon to occur, the moon must lie on or near the ecliptic. It intersects the celestial equator, or equinoctial, twice during the year at the equinoxes; on 21 March at the ‘first point of Aries’, which is 0° Right Ascension, and on 23 September at the ‘first point of Libra’, at 180° Right Ascension, and is furthest from the equator (23° 23′ N., or S.) at the points marking the summer solstice (June) and winter solstice (December).
|
|
|
Cite this article
"ecliptic." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ecliptic." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-ecliptic.html "ecliptic." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-ecliptic.html |
|
ecliptic
ecliptic , the great circle on the celestial sphere that lies in the plane of the earth's orbit (called the plane of the ecliptic). Because of the earth's yearly revolution around the sun, the sun appears to move in an annual journey through the heavens with the ecliptic as its path. The ecliptic is the principal axis in the ecliptic coordinate system . The two points at which the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator are the equinoxes . The obliquity of the ecliptic is the inclination of the plane of the ecliptic to the plane of the celestial equator, an angle of about 23 1/2 °. The constellations through which the ecliptic passes are the constellations of the zodiac . |
|
|
Cite this article
"ecliptic." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ecliptic." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-ecliptic.html "ecliptic." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-ecliptic.html |
|
ecliptic
ecliptic The apparent path of the Sun against the star background over the course of a year. The movement of the Sun along the ecliptic is actually a result of the Earth's movement in its orbit around the Sun. Therefore the ecliptic is actually the plane of the Earth's orbit projected on to the celestial sphere. Because of the Earth's axial tilt, the ecliptic is inclined at about 23°.4 to the celestial equator, an angle known as the obliquity of the ecliptic. The ecliptic crosses the celestial equator at the equinoxes. It takes its name from the fact that eclipses occur when the Moon is near the plane of the ecliptic.
|
|
|
Cite this article
"ecliptic." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-ecliptic.html "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-ecliptic.html |
|
ecliptic
e·clip·tic / iˈkliptik/ • n. Astron. a great circle on the celestial sphere representing the sun's apparent path during the year, so called because lunar and solar eclipses can occur only when the moon crosses it. • adj. of an eclipse or the ecliptic. |
|
|
Cite this article
"ecliptic." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "ecliptic." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-ecliptic.html "ecliptic." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-ecliptic.html |
|
ecliptic
ecliptic pert. to an eclipse XIV; sb. great circle of the celestial sphere, the apparent orbit of the sun, so called because eclipses happen only when the moon is on or very near this line XIV. — L. eclīpticus — Gr. ekleiptikós (also sb.), f. ekleípein; see prec. and -IC.
|
|
|
Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "ecliptic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "ecliptic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ecliptic.html T. F. HOAD. "ecliptic." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ecliptic.html |
|
ecliptic
|
|
|
Cite this article
AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-ecliptic.html AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O13-ecliptic.html |
|
ecliptic
|
|
|
Cite this article
MICHAEL ALLABY. "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-ecliptic.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "ecliptic." A Dictionary of Ecology. 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O14-ecliptic.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
