Astrophysics (Index)About

orbital inclination

(inclination)
(angle between plane of an orbit and a reference plane)

An orbital inclination is the angle between the plane of an orbit and a given reference plane. For example, the orbital inclination of an Earth satellite is generally given using the plane of the Earth's equator as a reference, but also could be given in reference to the plane of the Moon's orbit (which would likely be explicitly noted). The inclination of a solar system planet's orbit is generally given using the ecliptic (the plane of Earth's orbit) as a reference. The term is used for binary stars and extra-solar planets, generally in reference to the plane of the sky (the plane perpendicular to the line of sight). Examples:


(orbits,measure)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_inclination
https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/O/orbital+inclination
https://dictionary.obspm.fr/index.php?formSearchTextfield=orbital+inclination&showAll=1
https://www.asteroidmission.org/galleries/word-of-the-week/orbital-inclination/

Referenced by pages:
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
eclipsing binary (E)
exoplanet eclipse light curve
Haumea
irregular moon
Kozai mechanism (ZLK)
Kuiper Belt (K Belt)
long-period comet
mass function
mass ratio (μ)
minimum mass (m sin i)
moon
Morgan classification
Oort Cloud
orbit plot
orbital element
orbital resonance
Planet Nine
planetary migration
Pluto
Proxima b
retrograde orbit
Sedna
semi-major axis (a)
Solar Orbiter (SolO)
solar system
solar system object (SSO)
standard siren
trans-Neptune object (TNO)
Ulysses

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