Why is the ecliptic coordinate system especially convenient for mapping the major planets?
Answer
Most planets orbit the Sun in a plane that is already very close to the ecliptic plane.
The Solar System formed from a flattened protoplanetary disk, causing the major planets to settle into orbits nearly coplanar with Earth's orbit, making their latitude in this system close to $0^ ext{ extdegree}$.
#Videos
The Ecliptic: Crash Course Kids #37.2 - YouTube
Related Questions
What path does the Sun trace across the celestial sphere over the course of one year?Why is the celestial path called the "ecliptic"?What astronomical phenomenon is the direct result of the obliquity of the ecliptic?What is the approximate current measurement of the obliquity of the ecliptic?What celestial points are defined by the intersection of the ecliptic and the celestial equator?Which component of ecliptic coordinates measures an object's position perpendicular to the ecliptic plane?What accounts for the variation in the Sun's apparent speed along the ecliptic throughout the year?What term describes the slow, 26,000-year wobble in Earth's axis that causes constellations to shift relative to the ecliptic's fixed points?Why is the ecliptic coordinate system especially convenient for mapping the major planets?What constellation lies along the ecliptic path that is generally excluded from the traditional twelve-sign astrological Zodiac?What is the ecliptic plane projected onto the celestial sphere called?