Ecliptic

The term ecliptic is used in Astronomy to refer to the plane around which Planet Earth circles Sol our sun. All seven of the Solar system's planets circle Sol in approximately the same plane as the Earth. Planet Mercury plane is 7 degrees off the ecliptic - more than any other planet.

Many of the asteroids in the asteroid belt also vary from the ecliptic. Some estimates assert 80 percent of the objects in the more distant Kuiper belt do not circle in the ecliptic.