Looking Up: Answer the quiz, you might win a free star chart Nov 2, 2009
The other imaginary line is the ecliptic, which is the path the sun seems to travel as we circle around it. The moon and most of the planets never stray far from that line in what is referred to as the ecliptic band ... Because the Earth is tilted on its axis of rotation, which gives us the seasons, the celestial equator and ecliptic are not one and the same; they cross each other in two places on the sky, called the autumnal equinox and spring equinox. (Belmont Citizen Herald, MA)
Satellite reveals surprising cosmic 'weather' at edge of solar system Oct 17, 2009
IBEX shows that energetic neutral atoms are produced toward the north pole of the ecliptic (the plane traced by the orbit of the planets around the sun), as well as toward the heliosphere tail pointed toward the constellations of Taurus and Orion. "The particle energies change between the poles and tail, but surprisingly not in the ribbon compared to adjacent locations," Frisch said. (EurekAlert!)
Lunar prospecting: Probe ready to touch Moon water Oct 12, 2009
A video camera provided by Ecliptic Enterprises Corp. will capture live video and downlink the imagery at a few frames per second. Four more near-infrared and mid-infrared cameras will also monitor the debris cloud, gathering more detailed data on the thermal properties of the ejecta and looking for signs of water. (Astronomy Now Online)
Don't miss special effects of the harvest moon Oct 2, 2009
The moon always travels close to the ecliptic, the path of the sun and planets in the sky, the ecliptic is at a particularly shallow angle to the horizon ... Notice the shallow angle between the ecliptic (in green) and the horizon, typical near full moon at this time of year ... The effect of this shallow angle is that, even though the Moon moves about 12 degrees along the ecliptic every night, its rising time doesn't change very much from night to night. (MSNBC -- Technology)
LOOKING UP: Autumns stars are in view Sep 30, 2009
Autumn and Spring Equinox occur when the Sun, on its apparent path around the sky- the path known as the ecliptic- intersects with the celestial equator ... Because the Earth is tilted on its axis, the ecliptic line- where we see the Sun as we go around it- is likewise tilted in respect to the celestial equator ... This in turn means the points (the Equinoxes) where the ecliptic and celestial equator cross, ever so slowly change. (Medfield Press, MA)
Night Sky Viewing for October 2009 Sep 24, 2009
It can be found just right of Sagittarius by looking low on the southwestern sky, just above the ecliptic line, in early night October, about 8:00pm. It can also be located by looking southwest from the bright star Altair, which is in the Aquila constellation in the southwestern sky. (Suite101.com)
The Outer Solar System Jul 25, 2009
Uranus' rotation is very odd and its axis is almost perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. It's hard to say which is its north pole. (Suite101.com)
• Invisible lines crisscross the sky Jul 16, 2009
The ecliptic - the "equator" of the solar system - is the apparent path of the sun, moon and planets among the stars. Because of earth's axial tilt, the ecliptic wanders north and south of the celestial equator. (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
All S&T Observing Blogs Jul 5, 2009
com - Observing Blog. Contributor Guidelines. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
• Scorpius' brightest star hides behind the Moon Jun 4, 2009
We call it the ecliptic, which threads the 12 zodiac constellations. The Moon follows a path through the zodiac as well, but it varies throughout the year because the Moon's orbit is tilted a bit more than five degrees from the ecliptic. (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
Double planet treat in the predawn sky May 16, 2009
Show continuesAs spring and summer progress, the ecliptic the line that planets traverse in our sky makes an increasingly steep angle with the sunrise horizon. . (MSNBC -- Technology)
Fomalhaut's Disk and Fomalhaut's Spin Apr 28, 2009
Galileo tracked the motions of sunspots by making careful daily drawings; these enabled him to prove that the spots are on the surface of the Sun itself, that the Sun rotates roughly once a month, and that the Sun's equator is closely in line with the ecliptic, the plane of the solar system. Fomalhaut's debris disk, and the planet just inside its inner edge, are both seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
NRL's SoloHI selected for European-led solar orbiter mission Apr 28, 2009
The European Space Agency's (ESA's) Solar Orbiter mission will conduct scientific investigations ranging from near-Sun and out-of-ecliptic in-situ measurements to remote-sensing observations of the Sun and its environs ... "We are very excited about this opportunity for several reasons," says NRL's Dr. Russell Howard, principal investigator for SoloHI. "First it will allow us to observe the solar wind plasma in a more pristine state, before it has had a chance to be modified during its transport... (EurekAlert! -- Business News)
Enjoy the beauty of a thin crescent moon Apr 28, 2009
March and especially April are the best months of the year in this regard because the ecliptic the line in the sky along which the sun, moon and planets appear to travel is most steeply inclined to the western horizon. The moon always travels within several degrees of this line, so, in the springtime, an imaginary line from the sun to the moon will make a steep angle with the horizon around sunset. (MSNBC -- Technology)
• COLUMN: The crescent moon overtakes a crescent Venus Apr 16, 2009
If Venus and the Moon orbited in the average plane of the solar system (the ecliptic) the moon would cover Venus once a month. Venus's orbit tilts more than three degrees from the ecliptic, and the moon's more than five, so meetings between them are rare. (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
New Circumpolar Comet Yi-SWAN Apr 13, 2009
to the plane of the ecliptic. At perihelion on May 8th, the comet will be 1. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
LOOKING UP: What the Sun, geese and Florida snow birds share Mar 21, 2009
Because most of the planets all orbit together nearly on one plane, they travel a narrow band around the sky- the ecliptic ... The ecliptic, as seen on the sky, is off-set from the celestial equator, and intersects it at two points ... Again, if the Earth were straight up and down with no tip (you should always tip, by the way- at least 15 percent), the ecliptic line would follow the celestial equator exactly. (Medfield Press, MA)
Super Sendoff for Planet-Hunting Kepler Mar 17, 2009
In our ecliptic, the total mass from Mercury out to Pluto is just a little bit more than 1 ... In our ecliptic, the total mass from Mercury out to Pluto is just a little bit more than 1. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Sculpting the Asteroid Belt Mar 16, 2009
Posted by Rod March 12, 2009 At 04:32 PM PDT After reading this report, it reminds me that computer models seeking to describe unobserved past history are based upon many assumptions, in this example the starting amount of mass in the ecliptic 4 ... 85 Jupiters yet our current ecliptic from Mercury out to Pluto totals a little more than 1 ... 5 billion years used in the computer simulation let alone the assumed, starting mass in the ecliptic. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
> read more Mar 6, 2009
At this time of year, the western-sky ecliptic after dusk and therefore the zodiacal light is tilted high with respect to the horizon. Saturday, March 14. (SkyAndTelescope.com)
Science Fair showcases student talent Feb 25, 2009
He used Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation to try to determine if there were any similarities between planets that would contribute to them being pulled away from the Plane of the Ecliptic, which is the apparent path the sun orbits as seen from Earth. He found that there is a relationship between gravitational attraction and how far the planets or moons lie off the plane. (Grants Cibola County Beacon, NM)
NASA's SkyView Delivers The Multiwavelength Cosmos Feb 10, 2009
"For example, the plane of Earth's orbit, the ecliptic, shows up as an enhancement even though SkyView isn't intended for viewing solar system objects.". He speculates that people looking for asteroids and comets may be using SkyView to generate comparison images, seeing if the suspect object moves or disappears. (Science Daily)
Newfound Comet Lulin to grace night skies Feb 7, 2009
6-degrees from the ecliptic. As such, because it is moving opposite to the motion of our Earth, the comet will appear to track rather quickly against the background stars as one observes the object from one night to the next. (MSNBC -- Technology)
