Ecliptic latitude

The ecliptic latitude β is one of the two celestial coordinates of the ecliptic coordinate system.

It is one of the ecliptic - the apparent annual path of the sun among the stars - positive towards the north (towards the North celestial pole ) and negative to the south and could be compared with the latitude.

When the sun is β almost zero, because the railway yes used to define the ecliptic. If the Earth were no moon, β would despite perturbations by other planets than a few 0.01 " reach. However, since the moon has more than 1% of Earth's mass, it does not revolve around the earth, but to the common center of gravity, called the barycenter. The deposition of approximately 5000 km causes a slight up and down movement of the earth in the ecliptic plane of up to 1 ".

The second coordinate is called ecliptic longitude ( λ ) and is one of the ecliptic in the direction of the annual course of the sun.

The planet can be β 1 ° to 7 °, the ecliptic latitude, because their orbital planes are inclined to the ecliptic by a few degrees. In dwarf planets, however, the slope can significantly stronger ( Eris: 44 ° ), even in some asteroids may exceed 20 °, as in comets and other small bodies.

About the conversion between ecliptic coordinates ( β, λ ) and equatorial coordinates ( α, δ ), see Ecliptic longitude.