Ecliptic; Via Solis, the Sun's path · Astrological definition of Ecliptic; Via Solis, the Sun's path · Astrology Encyclopedia  ·  March 19, 2024, 8:22 GMT
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Ecliptic; Via Solis, the Sun's path

Ecliptic; Via Solis, the Sun's path - Astrology Encyclopedia

Definition of Ecliptic; Via Solis, the Sun's path The Sun's apparent orbit or path around the Earth; or the orbit of the Earth as viewed from the Sun. So named because it is along this path, at the points where it intersects the Equator, that Eclipses occur. Its inclination (23°27') to the plane of the Equator is now decreasing at the rate of 50" per century. A comparison of the calculations of this obliquity by Hipparchus, Ptolemy and Placidus, with those of modern astronomers, shows that the decrease has been continuous for over two thousand years. Discoveries of explorers in the Arctic and Antarctic regions indicate the one-time presence of tropical flora and fauna, suggesting that the poles of the earth were once in the plane of its orbit, and the present equatorial region was a great ice-belt. However, some astronomers figure that the inclination will decrease to a minimum of 22°30' in about the year 11,500. A similar condition is observed in Mars and Uranus. Sometimes termed the Celestial Ecliptic to distinguish it from the path of the Moon's orbit around the Earth - termed the Terrestrial Ecliptic.

(Nicholas deVore - Encyclopedia of Astrology)

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