ecliptic
ecliptic — adjective
- eclipticpositive
- more eclipticcomparative
- most eclipticsuperlative
1. connected with the ecliptic, the path the sun appears to follow across the sky e
connected with the ecliptic, the path the sun appears to follow across the sky each year, or with an eclipse, which happens when one object in space blocks the light of another.
Mauricio checked the ecliptic coordinates of Venus before setting up his telescope.
ecliptic coordinates — noun collocation for astronomy measurement
Diya learned that ecliptic alignments help astronomers predict when a solar eclipse will occur.
ecliptic alignments — noun collocation
The ecliptic path of the sun across the sky changes slightly over many centuries.
Maeve used a computer program to study how the ecliptic plane relates to the orbits of comets.
用法筆記
This adjective is almost always used before a noun (ecliptic coordinates, ecliptic plane). It belongs to technical astronomy writing and is rarely heard in everyday conversation.
ecliptic — noun
1. the circular path in the night sky that the sun seems to trace over the course o
the circular path in the night sky that the sun seems to trace over the course of a year, created by stretching the flat plane of how Earth moves around the sun all the way out to the stars; it is tilted about 23.5 degrees relative to the celestial equator.
Nicholas drew a diagram showing how the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator at two points called equinoxes.
ecliptic + crosses + [celestial feature] — verb-object pattern
Yumi explained that all the planets stay close to the ecliptic because their orbits lie in similar planes.
On a star chart, Sivan traced the ecliptic through the constellations of the zodiac with a blue pencil.
There is a 23.5-degree tilt between the ecliptic and the celestial equator that causes the seasons on Earth.
- sun's path
less technical, used in basic astronomy explanations
- solar path
rare alternative found in older textbooks
用法筆記
The ecliptic always takes the definite article the. Distinguish it from the celestial equator, which is the projection of Earth’s equator, not its orbital plane.