: the great circle of the celestial sphere that is the apparent path of the sun among the stars or of the earth as seen from the sun : the plane of the earth's orbit extended to meet the celestial sphere
Examples of ecliptic in a Sentence
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Phil Plait, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2025
Since all planets orbit the sun on the same plane — called the ecliptic — planets are always aligned.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Hannah Poukish, Sacramento Bee, 11 Jan. 2025
This situation repeats every 18.6 years, the time required for the ascending node to complete one circuit of the ecliptic.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2025
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Adjective
Saturn, like Earth, has a large axial tilt that is more than 26 degrees askew from the ecliptic plane in which all the major planets orbit.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2025
Since all planets orbit the sun on the same plane — called the ecliptic — planets are always aligned.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Noun
The astronomical alignment is technically called the ecliptic, which represents the plane of the solar system where planets orbit around the Sun, according to NASA.
—Hannah Poukish, Sacramento Bee, 11 Jan. 2025
This situation repeats every 18.6 years, the time required for the ascending node to complete one circuit of the ecliptic.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for ecliptic
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“Ecliptic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecliptic. Accessed 31 Jan. 2025.
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