Where is the ecliptic in relation to the Milky Way?

The equator (or plane) of the Milky Way is tilted by about 60 to the plane of the ecliptic, the plane of the Earth s orbit around the sun!
The plane of the Earth s orbit around the sun is called the ecliptic! The plane of the ecliptic pro"ected onto the stellar sphere #arks the sun s annual path in front of the back$round stars! %lthou$h the sun appears to #o&e east'ard throu$h the stars at about one de$ree per day, this apparent #otion is really a reflection of the Earth orbitin$ the sun! What is the ecliptic? The ecliptic is an i#portant reference and is often hi$hli$hted on sky charts! (ecause the planets of the solar syste# circle the sun on nearly the sa#e plane that the Earth circles the sun, the planets are al'ays found on or close to the ecliptic! The plane of the #oon s orbit around Earth is only so#e'hat aske' to the plane of the ecliptic, so the #oon is al'ays found on or near the ecliptic, too! When the ne' #oon ali$ns 'ith the ecliptic, 'e ha&e a total eclipse of the sun! When the full #oonali$ns 'ith the ecliptic, 'e ha&e a total lunar eclipse! Where is the ecliptic in relation to the Milky Way? The equator (or plane) of the Milky Way $ala)y is tilted by about 60 o to the plane of the ecliptic! *uite by coincidence, the ecliptic intersects the $alactic equator on or near the +une and ,ece#ber solstices! (ut does that #ean the Earth literally crosses the plane of the Milky Way s disk at these ti#es? The ans'er is noThe ecliptic as #arked on sky charts represents an out'ard pro"ection of the Earth s orbital plane onto the distant stellar sphere! (y $alactic standards, the Earth s orbit around the sun is so puny

that it shrinks to the si.e of a point! Earth s orbit is about /6!0 li$ht1#inutes in dia#eter, 'hereas the dia#eter of the Milky Way disk is a 'hoppin$ /00,000 li$ht1years 'ide! The &astness of the Milky Way d'arfs our solar syste# to al#ost nothin$ness! 2f the solar syste#, fro# the sun out to 3luto, 'ere shrunk to the si.e of a quarter, the Milky Way $ala)y 'ould be the si.e of 4orth %#erica! The three #a"or $reat circles on the so1 called celestial sphere 5 the ecliptic, celestial equator and $alactic equator 5 #ake up an elaborate but con&enient fiction of a bounded sphere abo&e our heads and beneath our feet! The equally1lar$e yet i#a$inary $reat circles enable astrono#ers to create a &iable coordinate syste# for locatin$ the positions of solar syste# bodies, stars and deep1sky ob"ects! (y $alactic standards, the Earth and solar syste# reside ri$ht ne)t to the $alactic plane! (ut by solar syte# standards, 'e re far fro# the plane of the $alactic disk! %strono#ers esti#ate that 'e re se&eral do.en li$ht1years north of the plane of our Milky Way $ala)y! Will Earth pass throu$h the $alactic plane in 60/6?
The great circle of the ecliptic intersects the great circle of the celestial equator at the equinox points, and intersects the great circle of the galactic equator near the solstice points . Galactic equator not shown on illustration.

Will Earth pass throu$h the $alactic plane in 60/6?

Earth 'on t physically cross the plane of our Milky Way $ala)y in 60/6, but Earth 'ill cross the $alactic equator in 60/6! That s nothin$ special- %s seen fro# the sun, Earth does this e&ery year 5 t'ice!
4o, Earth 'ill not pass throu$h the galactic plane in 60/6, contrary to 'hat you #i$ht ha&e heard! Earth 'on t be physically passin$ throu$h the plane of the Milky Way $ala)y anyti#e in the near future! 7o'e&er, Earth 'ill cross the galactic equator in 60/6! %s seen fro# the sun, the Earth does this e&ery year 5 t'ice! 7ere s so#e back$round! When 'e speak of the $alactic plane and the $alactic equator, 'e re speakin$ of t'o different syste#s8 the real and the i#a$inary!

The real8 our sun and Earth reside in the Milky Way $ala)y! 2f you could see the Milky Way face1on ('hich 'e can t, of course, because 'e are inside it), it 'ould look round! (ut if you &ie'ed it ed$e1on, it 'ould appear flat! The plane of the Milky Way is the flat part containin$ #ost of the $ala)y s stars! 9ur sun lies sli$htly off1center in the $alactic plane! Will 'e cross the $alactic plane in 60/6? 4o! 2#a$e &ia %stro(ob, 4%:%;+3<;=altech (left) and 4ed Wri$ht (ri$ht)!

The real. When so#eone says galactic plane they are #ost often referrin$ to the real Milky Way $ala)y 5 ho#e $ala)y to our Earth and sun 5 spinnin$ in space!

The $alactic plane is the actual #id1plane or center line of our $ala)y s hu$e spinnin$ disk of stars! We are not located on the e)act #id1plane of the $ala)y! 2t s this e)act #id1plane people are speakin$ about 'hen they speak of crossing so#ethin$! 7o' far are 'e fro# it? >ou #i$ht think that astrono#ers ha&e this nu#ber at their fin$ertips, but they don t! We re at least se&eral do.en li$ht1years fro# it, #aybe #ore! 2f you re interested in ho' astrono#ers discuss these thin$s, check out this letter fro# +ohn (achall and :afi (achall printed in the "ournal Nature in /?@0! 2t su$$ests our Earth and sun are currently abo&e the plane (to the $alactic 4orth) by about A0 to /0/ li$ht1years!

The i#a$inary8 our sun and Earth are at the center of a $reat celestial sphere of stars! 7ere s an ani#ated depiction of equatorial, ecliptic, and $alactic coordinates on the celestial sphere! Earth 'ould be at the center of all these intersectin$ planes! The yello' line indicates the $alactic equator! When so#eone speaks of the $alactic equator, think of this i#a$inary syste#, 'hich depicts the sky as seen fro# Earth s surface! 2#a$e &ia Wiki#edia =o##ons

The imaginary. The galactic equator is an i#a$inary $reat circle that di&ides the equally i#a$inarycelestial sphere into t'o equal hal&es! The celestial sphere is 5 of course 5 a fiction! 2t s the sa#e fiction that so

confounded the early star$a.ers, that, as seen fro# Earth, 'e appear to reside in the center of a $reat $lobe of stars! 2n #odern ti#es, the fiction of the geocentric &ie' of the uni&erse enables astrono#ers to use a 'orkable coordinate syste# for #appin$ the sky! 2t s handy, but it s not reality!

4o' let s define so#e ter#s! When so#eone says galactic equator, they re usually talkin$ about the coordinate syste# of astrono#ers! 9n this coordinate syste#, #odern astrono#ers t'eak thin$s a bit, to de&ise a sun1centered 'ay of #appin$ the Milky Way $ala)y! What s tricky is that 5 'hen you look at the starry sky at ni$ht as seen fro# Earth 5 the $alactic equator closely follo's the plane of the Milky Way $ala)y! 9f course it does, because 'e re talkin$ about the real Milky Way in our sky! As seen from the sun, the Earth crosses the $alactic equator t'ice a year, e&ery year! 4othin$ special here! Beep #o&in$! As seen from Earth, the sun crosses the $alactic equator t'ice a year, e&ery year! Beep #o&in$! %s seen fro# Earth, the #oon crosses the $alactic equator t'o (so#eti#es three) ti#es a #onth! %re you seein$ the pattern here? %ll of this crossin$ of the $alactic equator is "ust part of the hea&ens nor#al #otion, really Earth s nor#al #otion as pro"ected on our sky s do#e as 'e tra&el around the sun! Back to 2012. There s been #uch hoopla about the 'inter solstice sun ali$nin$ 'ith $alactic plane on ,ece#ber 6/, 60/6! >ou, ho'e&er, no' kno' the reality that, as seen fro# Earth, the sun crosses the $alactic equator t'ice a year! %nd the $alactic equator on our sky s i#a$inary astrono#ical coordinate syste# #ore or less corresponds 'ith the plane of the Milky Way $ala)y! :o, in this sense, the sun crosses the plane of the Milky Way t'ice a year (as seen fro# Earth)! *uite by coincidence, the $reat circle of the ecliptic 5 the pro"ection of the The great circles of the ecliptic and celestial equator intersect at the equinox points, and Earth s orbital plane onto the celestial the great circle of the galactic equator near the solstice points. The great circle of the sphere 5 intersects the $alactic equator galactic equator is not shown on this illustration. near the solstice points! %ccordin$ to the co#putational 'i.ard +ean MeeusC, the solstice points 'ere in ali$n#ent 'ith the $alactic equator as recently as the year /??@ 5 in other 'ords, they 'ere closer on the sky s do#e then! (ut in 60// and 60/6, these points 5 the solstice point, and the point 'here the sun crosses the $alactic equator 5 are near each other on our sky s do#e! What is the ecliptic? 2t s true that the sun on the ,ece#ber solstice doesn t return to the sa#e e)act spot in front of the backdrop stars e&ery year! The solstice point slo'ly but surely #o&es 'est'ard throu$h the stars at about one de$ree per e&ery A6 years! (Dor reference, the sun s dia#eter equals about /;6 de$ree!) Therefore, the solstice point #o&es about E0o 'est'ard e&ery 6,/60 years! (y the year 666?, the ,ece#ber solstice point 'ill cross into the constellation 9phiuchus! Then the solstices 'on t happen so near the location of the $alactic equator in our sky!

Take a look at the sky chart at the &ery top of this post! 2f you could see the stars durin$ the dayti#e, you d see the sun in front of the constellation :a$ittarius on each ,ece#ber 6/ solstice! We sho' :a$ittarius as a Teapot on this sky chart, because #any people are able to see that pattern! 9n or near each ,ece#ber solstice, the sun crosses the $alactic equator abo&e the spout of the Teapot, a bit north of the $alactic center! =an you see that intersection? 2f you 'ere standin$ under the real sky on a dark, #oonless ni$ht, you could see the $reat boule&ard of stars that 'e call the Milky Way runnin$ astride the $alactic equator! :cientific studies indicate that the solar syste# lies at least se&eral do.en li$ht1years north of the $alactic plane, possibly farther! What s #ore, 'e are continuin$ to tra&el north'ard, a'ay fro# the plane of our Milky Way $ala)y, at so#e A kilo#eters per second! Therefore, 'e 'on t be physicallypassin$ throu$h the $alactic plane in 60/6 or anyti#e in the near future! Where is the ecliptic in relation to the Milky Way? Cpa$e E0/1E0E of Mathe#atical %strono#y Morsels