Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ecliptic
1.
Pertaining to the ecliptic;
as, the
. ecliptic
way2.
Pertaining to an eclipse or to eclipses.
Lunar ecliptic limit
(Astron.)
, the space of 12° on the moon’s orbit from the node, within which, if the moon happens to be at full, it will be eclipsed.
– Solar ecliptic limit
, the space of 17° from the lunar node, within which, if a conjunction of the sun and moon occur, the sun will be eclipsed.
Webster 1828 Edition
Ecliptic
ECLIP'TIC
,Noun.
1.
A great circle of the sphere supposed to be drawn through the middle of the zodiac, making an angle with the equinoctial of 23deg.30', which is the sun's greatest declination. The ecliptic is the apparent path of the sun, but as in reality it is the earth which moves, the ecliptic is the path or way among the fixed stars which the earth in its orbit appears to describe, to an eye placed in the sun.2.
In geography, a great circle on the terrestrial globe, answering to and falling within the plane of the celestial ecliptic.ECLIP'TIC
,Adj.
1.
Suffering an eclipse.Definition 2024
ecliptic
ecliptic
See also: eclíptic
English
Alternative forms
- ecliptick (obsolete)
Noun
ecliptic (plural ecliptics)
- (astronomy) The apparent path of the Sun in the sky. More accurately, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the plane of the ecliptic, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun. So named because an eclipse can occur only when the Moon lies on this plane.
- (geometry) A great circle drawn on a terrestrial globe, used for illustrating and solving astronomical problems.
Translations
Earth's orbital plane
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