Click here for Disney's CD-ROM Learning Series
Please click to visit our sponsor.

Tell your teachers about EnchantedLearning.com!

Zoom Astronomy
Our Solar System
All About the Solar System Origins The Ecliptic Where is our Solar System? Exploring the Solar System Kuiper Belt Extremes Learning Activities

The Ecliptic of Our Solar System

Our solar system is almost flat, forming a plane. This plane is called the ecliptic of our solar system. The ecliptic is the plane of Earth's (and most of the other planets) orbit about the Sun. In the course of a year, the sun appears to trace a path in the sky along the ecliptic. The constellations of the Zodiac lie along the ecliptic.

Inclination is the angle between the plane of an orbit and the plane of the ecliptic. Orbital inclination is abbreviated as i.

The ecliptic is inclined at a 7° angle from the plane of the Sun's equator. The Earth's axis is tilted at a 23.5° angle from the ecliptic (which causes the seasons). The planet Pluto's orbit deviates more than any other planets from the plane of the ecliptic, with an inclination of 17° from the ecliptic.



Ecliptic Plane Links
A beautiful picture of the moon, the Sun's corona, Saturn, Mars, and Mercury lined up in the plane of the ecliptic, from the "Astronomy Picture of the Day" Site.


What's New Animal
Printouts
Zoom Astronomy Zoom Birds Zoom Butterfly Zoom Dinosaurs Oceans Zoom Rainforests Zoom Sharks Zoom Whales
Crafts K-3 Themes Little Explorers
Picture dictionary
Rebus Rhymes Biomes Zoom School Zoom Inventors Zoom Explorers Busy Little Brains
CD-ROM
Zoom Store
Incredible educational toys!
Enchanted Learning Home

E-mail

Subscribe to our mailing list - find out what's new at EnchantedLearning.com each week. Just write subscribe in the subject field and we'll e-mail you our free newsletter each week! (If you are under 13 years old, the subscription request must be e-mailed by a parent.) As stated in our privacy policy, we fully respect your privacy and will not use your e-mail address for any purpose other than the newsletter subscription.

Our privacy policy


Enchanted Learning Search

First search engine with spelling correction and pictures!
Search EnchantedLearning.com for all the words:
Enter one or more words, or a short phrase.
You can use an asterisk * as a wild-card.


Click for ZoomStore.com


Click here for Disney's CD-ROM Learning Series
Please click to visit our sponsor.

Tell your teachers about EnchantedLearning.com!

Copyright ©1998-2000 EnchantedLearning.com