Ecliptical latitude
The ecliptical latitude β is one of the two celestial coordinates of the ecliptical coordinate system . It counts from the ecliptic - the apparent annual solar path in the starry sky - positive to the north (towards the north celestial pole ) and negative to the south and can be compared with the geographical latitude .
The second coordinate is called the ecliptical longitude λ and counts in the ecliptic in the direction of the annual course of the sun; see there also for the conversion between ecliptical and equatorial coordinates (α, δ).
Because the sun's orbit serves to define the ecliptic, its ecliptical latitude is almost zero. If the earth had no moon , the ecliptical latitude of the sun would reach a maximum of a few 0.01 ″ as a result of the orbital disturbances by other planets . But now earth and moon revolve around their common center of gravity ( barycenter ). Since the moon has more than 1% of the earth's mass , the barycentre is about 5000 km away from the center of the earth. This results in a slight up and down movement of the earth out of the ecliptic plane of up to 1 "and thus a correspondingly large fluctuation in the ecliptical latitude of the sun when viewed from the earth.
The ecliptical latitude of the planets can be 1 ° to 7 ° because their orbital planes are inclined by a few degrees to the ecliptic. In dwarf planets , the inclination can be significantly stronger ( Eris : 44 °), and in some asteroids it can exceed 20 °, as well as in comets and other small bodies.