ekliptyki

The term ekliptyki, derived from the Greek word ekleipsis meaning "eclipse," refers to the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. More specifically, it is the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere as seen from Earth over the course of one year. This great circle on the celestial sphere is the fundamental reference plane for celestial coordinates. The planets in our solar system, including Earth, orbit the Sun in roughly the same plane. This is due to the formation of the solar system from a rotating disk of gas and dust, where most of the mass settled into a relatively flat plane. Therefore, the orbits of the other planets are inclined at small angles to the ecliptic. The Moon's orbit is also inclined to the ecliptic, by about 5.1 degrees. It is this inclination that allows for eclipses to occur. When the Moon's orbital plane intersects the ecliptic at the same time the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun (solar eclipse) or when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon (lunar eclipse), an eclipse becomes possible. The ecliptic is marked by the zodiac constellations, through which the Sun appears to move over the year.