b>ecliptic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system commonly used for representing the positions and orbits of Solar System objects. Because most planets (except Mercury), and many small solar system bodies have orbits with small inclinations to the ecliptic, it is convenient to use it as the fundamental plane. The system's origin can be either the center of the Sun or the center of the Earth, its primary direction is towards the vernal equinox, and it has a right-handed convention. It may be implemented in spherical or rectangular coordinates.
Read more about Ecliptic Coordinate System: Primary Direction, Spherical Coordinates
Famous quotes containing the word system:
“Books are for the most part willfully and hastily written, as parts of a system to supply a want real or imagined.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)