Lexic.us

Definition of Ecliptic

1. Noun. The great circle representing the apparent annual path of the sun; the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun; makes an angle of about 23 degrees with the equator. "All of the planets rotate the sun in approximately the same ecliptic"

Definition of Ecliptic

1. n. A great circle of the celestial sphere, making an angle with the equinoctial of about 23° 28′. It is the apparent path of the sun, or the real path of the earth as seen from the sun.

2. a. Pertaining to the ecliptic; as, the ecliptic way.

Definition of Ecliptic

1. Noun. (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. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Ecliptic

1. an astronomical plane [n -S]

Medical Definition of Ecliptic

1. 1. A great circle of the celestial sphere, making an angle with the equinoctial of about 23 deg 28'. It is the apparent path of the sun, or the real path of the earth as seen from the sun. 2. A great circle drawn on a terrestrial globe, making an angle of 23 deg 28' with the equator; used for illustrating and solving astronomical problems. Origin: Cf. F. Ecliptique, L. Linea ecliptica, Gr, prop. Adj, of an eclipse, because in this circle eclipses of the sun and moon take place. See Ecliptic. 1. Pertaining to the ecliptic; as, the ecliptic way. 2. Pertaining to an eclipse or to eclipses. Lunar ecliptic limit, the space of 12 deg 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 deg from the lunar node, within which, if a conjunction of the sun and moon occur, the sun will be eclipsed. Origin: L. Eclipticus belonging to an eclipse, Gr. See Eclipse. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Ecliptic

Literary usage of Ecliptic

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General by Thomas Spencer Baynes (1888)
"The great circle which the sun describes in virtue, of his proper motion is called the ecliptic. It has received this name from the circumstance that the ..."

2. The Advanced Part of A Treatise on the Dynamics of a System of Rigid Bodies by Edward John Routh (1905)
"Let DDE and DA be the positions of the ecliptic and equator at ... В D BDE is the fixed ecliptic, DA the fixed equator, CAE the moving ecliptic and HC the ..."

3. An Introduction to Astronomy by Forest Ray Moulton (1916)
"The ecliptic System. — The third system which is employed in astronomy, but much less frequently than the other two, is known as the ecliptic system because ..."

4. A Dictionary of Science, Literature, & Art: Comprising the Definitions and by William Thomas Brande, George William Cox (1867)
"The ecliptic, from time ; lived. Some only of the eclogues of Virgil immemorial, ... But the signs of the ecliptic, oras they this species of poetry, ..."

5. An Introduction to Celestial Mechanics by Forest Ray Moulton (1914)
"The Heliocentric Position in the ecliptic System. Methods have been given for finding the positions in the orbits in the various cases which arise. ..."

6. A Compendious System of Natural Philosophy: With Notes, Containing the by John Rowning (1758)
"I; Of the ecliptic, and other Particulars relating to it. The ecliptic is that Circle which Plane of the Earth's Orbit would mark tic> out, ..."

7. Handbook of Climatology by Julius von Hann (1903)
"The changes in the obliquity of the ecliptic may, according to Laplace. amount, at a maximum, to 1° 22-5- on both sides of the value 23° 2£ The obliquity of ..."

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