orbital plane
1
7.9
- noun
- Specialized
:
plano orbital
- The Earth's oblateness causes the orbital planes of satellites in low orbits to move gradually.
- orbital plane of a planet
- Earth's orbital plane
And what do they need to know is the, the shape of the, the orbit, it's tilt relative to Earth's orbital plane and several other things, right?
- And what do they need to know is the, the shape of the, the orbit, it's tilt relative to Earth's orbital plane and several other things, right?
Examples
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Most Algols undergo eclipses because of the chance alignment of their orbital planes with our line of sight.
Academic text (2000) -
The Earth's axis of rotation is currently offset about 23.4 degrees relative to its orbital plane.
Blog text (31) -
You see it here in blue and green depending on the orientation of the orbital plane relative to the observer.
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Which is we only detect those planets which by luck reside in an orbital plane like a flat piece of paper.
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A: They are moving in tandem with one another along a flat, elliptical orbital plane.
Blog text (34) -
From that ellipse, one can, in principle, determine the inclination of the planet's orbital plane.
Academic text (2004) -
The other major limitation of the transit method is that it requires an unlikely coincidence of the planet's orbital plane and our line of sight.
Academic text (1996) -
This is because we're viewing Jupiter and its moons along the Jovian system's orbital plane.
Academic text (2002) -
Jupiter and Earth orbit in the same plane (within a degree or five), whereas Pluto's orbital plane is significantly inclined relative to the ecliptic.
Blog text (28) -
Asteroids circle the Sun in relatively circular orbits, close to the Earth's orbital plane.
Synonyms
130
7.0
A flat surface that extends forever in two directions
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'orbital' (relating to orbits) with 'plane' (a flat two-dimensional surface): together they denote the flat surface defined by an object's orbital path. This adjective+noun composition follows regular English compounding and has clear parallels in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Orbital plane comes from a simple image: plane means a flat sheet and orbital comes from 'orbit', the path something takes around another object. So an orbital plane is like an invisible flat surface or 'path' that shows where a satellite or planet travels, which is why we use it to talk about their orbits.