The ecliptic is an imaginary line on the sky that marks the annual path of the sun. It is the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the celestial sphere. And it is an essential part of any stargazer’s vocabulary.
The ecliptic marks the line along which eclipses occur, the moon and planets and asteroids wander, the Zodiac constellations live. The ecliptic is even the starting point for the celestial coordinate system used by astronomers to pinpoint the location of every star, nebula, and galaxy.
The ecliptic marks the line along which eclipses occur, the moon and planets and asteroids wander, the Zodiac constellations live. The ecliptic is even the starting point for the celestial coordinate system used by astronomers to pinpoint the location of every star, nebula, and galaxy.