The pools of ecliptic and equator differ 23.4 degrees, therefore there is also a difference of 23.4 degrees between ecliptic and equator. The equator – defined in green as celestial equator – is the plane created by the rotation of the earth (the axial rotation around the North celestial pole and the South celestial pole). The ecliptic pole and the celestial pole are separated by an angle of about 23.4 degrees. But the earth rotates around another axis en that axis runs through the North celestial pole and the South celestial pole. They indicate the axis that defines the movement of the ecliptic.

The ecliptic is the plane that is defined by the earths revolution around the sun and that is also indicated in the drawing.īy Tfr000 ( talk) 01:59, 15 March 2012 (UTC) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, WikipediaĪt the top and the bottom you will find the North ecliptic pole and the South ecliptic pole. In the drawing we define the ecliptic as a horizontal gray plane. By definition the axis of the earth and the equator are separated by 90 degrees. The equator defines the plane that is created by the axial rotation of the earth. That axis is the line between north pole and south pole, not the magnetic one but the one defined by rotation. We call this angle the tilt of the axis of the earth and in calculations we mostly call it by the greek letter ε (Epsilon).

In its course around the sun the axis of the earth is not pointing upwards but it has an inclination of about 23.4 degrees.

Obliquity of the ecliptic excel