CINXE.COM
Orbital inclination - Wikipedia
<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Orbital inclination - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"f86f9e08-924a-4369-982e-9512013c90d3","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Orbital_inclination","wgTitle":"Orbital inclination","wgCurRevisionId":1181523461,"wgRevisionId":1181523461,"wgArticleId":56440,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Use dmy dates from December 2022","Articles with short description","Short description matches Wikidata","All articles with unsourced statements","Articles with unsourced statements from May 2014","Orbits"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Orbital_inclination","wgRelevantArticleId":56440,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[] ,"wgRedirectedFrom":"Inclination","wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":10000,"wgInternalRedirectTargetUrl":"/wiki/Orbital_inclination","wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgCentralAuthMobileDomain":false,"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q4112212","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"], "GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","ext.math.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["mediawiki.action.view.redirect","ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips", "ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.quicksurveys.init","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.math.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.5"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Orbit1.svg/1200px-Orbit1.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="1081"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Orbit1.svg/800px-Orbit1.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="721"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Orbit1.svg/640px-Orbit1.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="577"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Orbital inclination - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_inclination"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_inclination"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Orbital_inclination rootpage-Orbital_inclination skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Orbital+inclination" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Orbital+inclination" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Orbital+inclination" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Orbital+inclination" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"><!-- CentralNotice --></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Orbits" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Orbits"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Orbits</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Orbits-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Orbits subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Orbits-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Natural_and_artificial_satellites" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Natural_and_artificial_satellites"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Natural and artificial satellites</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Natural_and_artificial_satellites-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Exoplanets_and_multiple_star_systems" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Exoplanets_and_multiple_star_systems"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Exoplanets and multiple star systems</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Exoplanets_and_multiple_star_systems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Calculation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Calculation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Calculation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Calculation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Observations_and_theories" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Observations_and_theories"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Observations and theories</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Observations_and_theories-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other_meaning" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other_meaning"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Other meaning</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other_meaning-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Orbital inclination</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 61 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-61" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">61 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-af mw-list-item"><a href="https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baanhelling" title="Baanhelling – Afrikaans" lang="af" hreflang="af" data-title="Baanhelling" data-language-autonym="Afrikaans" data-language-local-name="Afrikaans" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Afrikaans</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-als mw-list-item"><a href="https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnneigung" title="Bahnneigung – Alemannic" lang="gsw" hreflang="gsw" data-title="Bahnneigung" data-language-autonym="Alemannisch" data-language-local-name="Alemannic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Alemannisch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B2%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9_%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86" title="زاوية ميلان – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="زاوية ميلان" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-an mw-list-item"><a href="https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclinaci%C3%B3n" title="Inclinación – Aragonese" lang="an" hreflang="an" data-title="Inclinación" data-language-autonym="Aragonés" data-language-local-name="Aragonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Aragonés</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encl%C3%ADn_orbital" title="Enclín orbital – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Enclín orbital" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B7%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC_%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BF" title="কক্ষীয় নতি – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="কক্ষীয় নতি" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-min-nan.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BAi-t%C5%8D_kheng-si%C3%A2-kak" title="Kúi-tō kheng-siâ-kak – Minnan" lang="nan" hreflang="nan" data-title="Kúi-tō kheng-siâ-kak" data-language-autonym="閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú" data-language-local-name="Minnan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gú</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Инклинация – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Инклинация" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclinaci%C3%B3" title="Inclinació – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Inclinació" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sklon_dr%C3%A1hy" title="Sklon dráhy – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Sklon dráhy" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baneh%C3%A6ldning" title="Banehældning – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Banehældning" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnneigung" title="Bahnneigung – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Bahnneigung" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiidi_kalle" title="Orbiidi kalle – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Orbiidi kalle" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9A%CE%BB%CE%AF%CF%83%CE%B7_%CF%84%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%87%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%82" title="Κλίση τροχιάς – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Κλίση τροχιάς" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclinaci%C3%B3n_orbital" title="Inclinación orbital – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Inclinación orbital" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbita_klineco" title="Orbita klineco – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Orbita klineco" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makurdura_orbital" title="Makurdura orbital – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Makurdura orbital" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AD%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81_%D9%85%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C" title="انحراف مداری – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="انحراف مداری" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclinaison_orbitale" title="Inclinaison orbitale – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Inclinaison orbitale" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gv mw-list-item"><a href="https://gv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleayn" title="Cleayn – Manx" lang="gv" hreflang="gv" data-title="Cleayn" data-language-autonym="Gaelg" data-language-local-name="Manx" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Gaelg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclinaci%C3%B3n_orbital" title="Inclinación orbital – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Inclinación orbital" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EA%B6%A4%EB%8F%84_%EA%B2%BD%EC%82%AC" title="궤도 경사 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="궤도 경사" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%88%D6%82%D5%B2%D5%A5%D5%AE%D6%80%D5%AB_%D5%A9%D5%A5%D6%84%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B4" title="Ուղեծրի թեքում – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Ուղեծրի թեքում" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%AF_%E0%A4%9D%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B5" title="कक्षीय झुकाव – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="कक्षीय झुकाव" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklinacija_orbite" title="Inklinacija orbite – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Inklinacija orbite" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklinasi" title="Inklinasi – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Inklinasi" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclinazione_orbitale" title="Inclinazione orbitale – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Inclinazione orbitale" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A0%D7%98%D7%99%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%9E%D7%A1%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%9C" title="נטיית מסלול – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="נטיית מסלול" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-jv mw-list-item"><a href="https://jv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumiwang_Orbit" title="Gumiwang Orbit – Javanese" lang="jv" hreflang="jv" data-title="Gumiwang Orbit" data-language-autonym="Jawa" data-language-local-name="Javanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Jawa</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sw mw-list-item"><a href="https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mwinamo_wa_mzunguko" title="Mwinamo wa mzunguko – Swahili" lang="sw" hreflang="sw" data-title="Mwinamo wa mzunguko" data-language-autonym="Kiswahili" data-language-local-name="Swahili" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Kiswahili</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-la mw-list-item"><a href="https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclinatio_orbitalis" title="Inclinatio orbitalis – Latin" lang="la" hreflang="la" data-title="Inclinatio orbitalis" data-language-autonym="Latina" data-language-local-name="Latin" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lv mw-list-item"><a href="https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb%C4%ABtas_sl%C4%ABpums" title="Orbītas slīpums – Latvian" lang="lv" hreflang="lv" data-title="Orbītas slīpums" data-language-autonym="Latviešu" data-language-local-name="Latvian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Latviešu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklin%C3%A1ci%C3%B3" title="Inklináció – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Inklináció" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BD_(%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0)" title="Наклон (орбита) – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Наклон (орбита)" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mr mw-list-item"><a href="https://mr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B7%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%BE_%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B2" title="कक्षेचा कल – Marathi" lang="mr" hreflang="mr" data-title="कक्षेचा कल" data-language-autonym="मराठी" data-language-local-name="Marathi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>मराठी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kecondongan_orbit" title="Kecondongan orbit – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Kecondongan orbit" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glooiingshoek" title="Glooiingshoek – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Glooiingshoek" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BB%8C%E9%81%93%E5%82%BE%E6%96%9C%E8%A7%92" title="軌道傾斜角 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="軌道傾斜角" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklinasjon" title="Inklinasjon – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Inklinasjon" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nn mw-list-item"><a href="https://nn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banehelling" title="Banehelling – Norwegian Nynorsk" lang="nn" hreflang="nn" data-title="Banehelling" data-language-autonym="Norsk nynorsk" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Nynorsk" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk nynorsk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nds mw-list-item"><a href="https://nds.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnnegen" title="Bahnnegen – Low German" lang="nds" hreflang="nds" data-title="Bahnnegen" data-language-autonym="Plattdüütsch" data-language-local-name="Low German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Plattdüütsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklinacja" title="Inklinacja – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Inklinacja" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclina%C3%A7%C3%A3o_orbital" title="Inclinação orbital – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Inclinação orbital" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Enclina%C8%9Bie_orbital%C4%83" title="Înclinație orbitală – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Înclinație orbitală" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru badge-Q70894304 mw-list-item" title=""><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_(%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%8F)" title="Наклонение (астрономия) – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Наклонение (астрономия)" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_inclination" title="Orbital inclination – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Orbital inclination" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sklon_dr%C3%A1hy" title="Sklon dráhy – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Sklon dráhy" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naklon_tira" title="Naklon tira – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Naklon tira" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0" title="Инклинација – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Инклинација" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklinacija" title="Inklinacija – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Inklinacija" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-su mw-list-item"><a href="https://su.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingklinasi" title="Ingklinasi – Sundanese" lang="su" hreflang="su" data-title="Ingklinasi" data-language-autonym="Sunda" data-language-local-name="Sundanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Sunda</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inklinaatio" title="Inklinaatio – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Inklinaatio" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banlutning" title="Banlutning – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Banlutning" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-te mw-list-item"><a href="https://te.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B0%95%E0%B0%95%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%B7%E0%B1%8D%E0%B0%AF_%E0%B0%B5%E0%B0%BE%E0%B0%B2%E0%B1%81" title="కక్ష్య వాలు – Telugu" lang="te" hreflang="te" data-title="కక్ష్య వాలు" data-language-autonym="తెలుగు" data-language-local-name="Telugu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>తెలుగు</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%87%E0%B9%82%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%A3" title="ความเอียงของวงโคจร – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="ความเอียงของวงโคจร" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C3%B6r%C3%BCnge_e%C4%9Fikli%C4%9Fi" title="Yörünge eğikliği – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Yörünge eğikliği" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B8%D0%BB_%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%96%D1%82%D0%B8" title="Нахил орбіти – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Нахил орбіти" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%90%E1%BB%99_nghi%C3%AAng_qu%E1%BB%B9_%C4%91%E1%BA%A1o" title="Độ nghiêng quỹ đạo – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Độ nghiêng quỹ đạo" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu mw-list-item"><a href="https://wuu.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BD%A8%E9%81%93%E5%80%BE%E8%A7%92" title="轨道倾角 – Wu" lang="wuu" hreflang="wuu" data-title="轨道倾角" data-language-autonym="吴语" data-language-local-name="Wu" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>吴语</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BB%8C%E9%81%93%E5%82%BE%E8%A7%92" title="軌道傾角 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="軌道傾角" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%BB%8C%E9%81%93%E5%82%BE%E8%A7%92" title="軌道傾角 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="軌道傾角" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q4112212#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Orbital_inclination" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Orbital_inclination" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Orbital_inclination" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&oldid=1181523461" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Orbital_inclination&id=1181523461&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FOrbital_inclination"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FOrbital_inclination"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Orbital_inclination&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q4112212" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Inclination&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Inclination">Inclination</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Angle between a reference plane and the plane of an orbit</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Inclination" redirects here. For other uses, see <a href="/wiki/Inclination_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Inclination (disambiguation)">Inclination (disambiguation)</a>.</div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Orbit1.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Orbit1.svg/300px-Orbit1.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="270" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Orbit1.svg/450px-Orbit1.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Orbit1.svg/600px-Orbit1.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="555" data-file-height="500" /></a><figcaption>Fig. 1: Orbital inclination represented by <i><b>i</b></i> (dark green), along with other fundamental <a href="/wiki/Orbital_parameters" class="mw-redirect" title="Orbital parameters">orbital parameters</a></figcaption></figure> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1246091330">.mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:22em;float:right;clear:right;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.2em;text-align:center;line-height:1.4em;font-size:88%;border-collapse:collapse;display:table}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:table!important;float:right!important;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em!important}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-subgroup{width:100%;margin:0;border-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-left{float:left;clear:left;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-none{float:none;clear:both;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-outer-title{padding:0 0.4em 0.2em;font-size:125%;line-height:1.2em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-image{padding:0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-caption,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle-with-top-image,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-caption{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle{padding:0.4em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.2em 0.8em;font-size:145%;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-image{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-heading{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content{padding:0 0.5em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content-with-subgroup{padding:0.1em 0.4em 0.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-below{padding:0.3em 0.8em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-below{border-top:1px solid #aaa;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-navbar{text-align:right;font-size:115%;padding:0 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:left;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6em;font-size:105%}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title-c{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:center;margin:0 3.3em}@media(max-width:640px){body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:100%!important;clear:both;float:none!important;margin-left:0!important;margin-right:0!important}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .sidebar a>img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile nowraplinks"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">Part of a series on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle">Astrodynamics</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image" style="padding-bottom:0.85em;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Orbit_mechanics_icon.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Orbit_mechanics_icon.svg/60px-Orbit_mechanics_icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="60" height="60" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Orbit_mechanics_icon.svg/90px-Orbit_mechanics_icon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Orbit_mechanics_icon.svg/120px-Orbit_mechanics_icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="padding-bottom:0.55em;"> <div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_mechanics" title="Orbital mechanics"><span style="font-size:110%;">Orbital mechanics</span></a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_elements" title="Orbital elements">Orbital elements</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Apsis" title="Apsis">Apsis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Argument_of_periapsis" title="Argument of periapsis">Argument of periapsis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_eccentricity" title="Orbital eccentricity">Eccentricity</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Inclination</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mean_anomaly" title="Mean anomaly">Mean anomaly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_node" title="Orbital node">Orbital nodes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semi-major_and_semi-minor_axes" title="Semi-major and semi-minor axes">Semi-major axis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/True_anomaly" title="True anomaly">True anomaly</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Types of <a href="/wiki/Two-body_problem" title="Two-body problem">two-body orbits</a> by <br />eccentricity</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Circular_orbit" title="Circular orbit">Circular orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elliptic_orbit" title="Elliptic orbit">Elliptic orbit</a></li></ul> <div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Transfer_orbit" title="Transfer orbit">Transfer orbit</a> <div class="hlist" style="font-size:90%"><ul><li>(<a href="/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit" title="Hohmann transfer orbit">Hohmann transfer orbit</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Bi-elliptic_transfer" title="Bi-elliptic transfer">Bi-elliptic transfer orbit</a>)</li></ul></div></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory" title="Parabolic trajectory">Parabolic orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hyperbolic_trajectory" title="Hyperbolic trajectory">Hyperbolic orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radial_trajectory" title="Radial trajectory">Radial orbit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_decay" title="Orbital decay">Decaying orbit</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Equations</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dynamical_friction" title="Dynamical friction">Dynamical friction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Escape_velocity" title="Escape velocity">Escape velocity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kepler%27s_equation" title="Kepler's equation">Kepler's equation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kepler%27s_laws_of_planetary_motion" title="Kepler's laws of planetary motion">Kepler's laws of planetary motion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_period" title="Orbital period">Orbital period</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_speed" title="Orbital speed">Orbital velocity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surface_gravity" title="Surface gravity">Surface gravity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy" title="Specific orbital energy">Specific orbital energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vis-viva_equation" title="Vis-viva equation">Vis-viva equation</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="padding-bottom:0.55em;"> <div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Celestial_mechanics" title="Celestial mechanics"><span style="font-size:110%;">Celestial mechanics</span></a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Gravitational influences</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Barycenter" class="mw-redirect" title="Barycenter">Barycenter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hill_sphere" title="Hill sphere">Hill sphere</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Perturbation_(astronomy)" title="Perturbation (astronomy)">Perturbations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sphere_of_influence_(astrodynamics)" title="Sphere of influence (astrodynamics)">Sphere of influence</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/N-body_problem" title="N-body problem">N-body orbits</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Lagrange_point" title="Lagrange point">Lagrangian points</a> <div class="hlist" style="font-size:90%"><ul><li>(<a href="/wiki/Halo_orbit" title="Halo orbit">Halo orbits</a>)</li></ul></div></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lissajous_orbit" title="Lissajous orbit">Lissajous orbits</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lyapunov_stability" title="Lyapunov stability">Lyapunov orbits</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="padding-bottom:0.55em;"> <div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/wiki/Aerospace_engineering" title="Aerospace engineering"><span style="font-size:110%;">Engineering and efficiency</span></a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Preflight engineering</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Mass_ratio" title="Mass ratio">Mass ratio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Payload_fraction" title="Payload fraction">Payload fraction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Propellant_mass_fraction" title="Propellant mass fraction">Propellant mass fraction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation" title="Tsiolkovsky rocket equation">Tsiolkovsky rocket equation</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Efficiency measures</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gravity_assist" title="Gravity assist">Gravity assist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oberth_effect" title="Oberth effect">Oberth effect</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="color: var(--color-base)">Propulsive maneuvers</div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content plainlist" style="padding-top:0;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_maneuver" title="Orbital maneuver">Orbital maneuver</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbit_insertion" title="Orbit insertion">Orbit insertion</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Astrodynamics" title="Template:Astrodynamics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Astrodynamics" title="Template talk:Astrodynamics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Astrodynamics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Astrodynamics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Orbital inclination</b> measures the tilt of an object's <a href="/wiki/Orbit" title="Orbit">orbit</a> around a celestial body. It is expressed as the <a href="/wiki/Angle" title="Angle">angle</a> between a <a href="/wiki/Plane_of_reference" class="mw-redirect" title="Plane of reference">reference plane</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Orbital_plane" title="Orbital plane">orbital plane</a> or <a href="/wiki/Axis_of_rotation" class="mw-redirect" title="Axis of rotation">axis</a> of direction of the orbiting object. </p><p>For a satellite orbiting the Earth directly above the <a href="/wiki/Equator" title="Equator">Equator</a>, the plane of the satellite's orbit is the same as the Earth's equatorial plane, and the satellite's orbital inclination is 0°. The general case for a circular orbit is that it is tilted, spending half an orbit over the northern hemisphere and half over the southern. If the orbit swung between 20° north <a href="/wiki/Latitude" title="Latitude">latitude</a> and 20° south latitude, then its orbital inclination would be 20°. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Orbits">Orbits</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Orbits"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The inclination is one of the six <a href="/wiki/Orbital_elements" title="Orbital elements">orbital elements</a> describing the shape and orientation of a celestial <a href="/wiki/Orbit" title="Orbit">orbit</a>. It is the <a href="/wiki/Angle" title="Angle">angle</a> between the orbital plane and the <a href="/wiki/Plane_of_reference" class="mw-redirect" title="Plane of reference">plane of reference</a>, normally stated in <a href="/wiki/Degree_(angle)" title="Degree (angle)">degrees</a>. For a satellite orbiting a <a href="/wiki/Planet" title="Planet">planet</a>, the plane of reference is usually the plane containing the planet's <a href="/wiki/Equator" title="Equator">equator</a>. For planets in the Solar System, the plane of reference is usually the <a href="/wiki/Ecliptic" title="Ecliptic">ecliptic</a>, the plane in which the Earth orbits the Sun.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This reference plane is most practical for Earth-based observers. Therefore, Earth's inclination is, by definition, zero. </p><p>Inclination can instead be measured with respect to another plane, such as the <a href="/wiki/Sun" title="Sun">Sun</a>'s equator or the <a href="/wiki/Invariable_plane" title="Invariable plane">invariable plane</a> (the plane that represents the angular momentum of the Solar System, approximately the orbital plane of <a href="/wiki/Jupiter" title="Jupiter">Jupiter</a>). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Natural_and_artificial_satellites">Natural and artificial satellites</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Natural and artificial satellites"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The inclination of orbits of <a href="/wiki/Natural_satellite" title="Natural satellite">natural</a> or <a href="/wiki/Artificial_satellite" class="mw-redirect" title="Artificial satellite">artificial satellites</a> is measured relative to the equatorial plane of the body they orbit, if they orbit sufficiently closely. The equatorial plane is the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the central body. </p><p>An inclination of 30° could also be described using an angle of 150°. The convention is that the normal orbit is <a href="/wiki/Direct_motion" class="mw-redirect" title="Direct motion">prograde</a>, an orbit in the same direction as the planet rotates. Inclinations greater than 90° describe <a href="/wiki/Retrograde_motion" class="mw-redirect" title="Retrograde motion">retrograde orbits</a> (backward). Thus: </p> <ul><li>An inclination of 0° means the orbiting body has a prograde orbit in the planet's equatorial plane.</li> <li>An inclination greater than 0° and less than 90° also describes a prograde orbit.</li> <li>An inclination of 63.4° is often called a <b>critical inclination</b>, when describing artificial satellites orbiting the Earth, because they have <a href="/wiki/Orbital_perturbation_analysis#Perturbation_of_the_orbital_plane_2" class="mw-redirect" title="Orbital perturbation analysis">zero apogee drift</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>An inclination of exactly 90° is a <a href="/wiki/Polar_orbit" title="Polar orbit">polar orbit</a>, in which the spacecraft passes over the poles of the planet.</li> <li>An inclination greater than 90° and less than 180° is a retrograde orbit.</li> <li>An inclination of exactly 180° is a retrograde equatorial orbit.</li></ul> <p>For impact-generated moons of <a href="/wiki/Terrestrial_planet" title="Terrestrial planet">terrestrial planets</a> not too far from their star, with a large planet–moon distance, the orbital planes of moons tend to be aligned with the planet's orbit around the star due to tides from the star, but if the planet–moon distance is small, it may be inclined. For <a href="/wiki/Gas_giant" title="Gas giant">gas giants</a>, the orbits of moons tend to be aligned with the giant planet's equator, because these formed in circumplanetary disks.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Strictly speaking, this applies only to regular satellites. Captured bodies on distant orbits vary widely in their inclinations, while captured bodies in relatively close orbits tend to have low inclinations owing to tidal effects and perturbations by large regular satellites. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Exoplanets_and_multiple_star_systems">Exoplanets and multiple star systems</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Exoplanets and multiple star systems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The inclination of <a href="/wiki/Exoplanet" title="Exoplanet">exoplanets</a> or members of <a href="/wiki/Star_system" title="Star system">multi-star star systems</a> is the angle of the plane of the orbit relative to the plane perpendicular to the line of sight from Earth to the object.<sup id="cite_ref-Campante_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campante-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <ul><li>An inclination of 0° is a face-on orbit, meaning the plane of the exoplanet's orbit is perpendicular to the line of sight with Earth.</li> <li>An inclination of 90° is an edge-on orbit, meaning the plane of the exoplanet's orbit is parallel to the line of sight with Earth.</li></ul> <p>Since the word "inclination" is used in exoplanet studies for this line-of-sight inclination, the angle between the planet's orbit and its star's rotational axis is expressed using the term the "spin-orbit angle" or "spin-orbit alignment".<sup id="cite_ref-Campante_5-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Campante-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In most cases the orientation of the star's rotational axis is unknown. </p><p>Because the <a href="/wiki/Doppler_spectroscopy" title="Doppler spectroscopy">radial-velocity method</a> more easily finds planets with orbits closer to edge-on, most exoplanets found by this method have inclinations between 45° and 135°, although in most cases the inclination is not known. Consequently, most exoplanets found by radial velocity have <a href="/wiki/Binary_mass_function" title="Binary mass function">true masses</a> no more than 40% greater than their <a href="/wiki/Minimum_mass" title="Minimum mass">minimum masses</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2014)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> If the orbit is almost face-on, especially for superjovians detected by radial velocity, then those objects may actually be <a href="/wiki/Brown_dwarf" title="Brown dwarf">brown dwarfs</a> or even <a href="/wiki/Red_dwarf" title="Red dwarf">red dwarfs</a>. One particular example is <a href="/wiki/HD_33636" title="HD 33636">HD 33636</a> B, which has true mass 142 M<sub>J</sub>, corresponding to an M6V star, while its minimum mass was 9.28 M<sub>J</sub>. </p><p>If the orbit is almost edge-on, then the planet can be seen <a href="/wiki/Transit_method" class="mw-redirect" title="Transit method">transiting</a> its star. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Calculation">Calculation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Calculation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Orbital_inclination_from_momentum_vector.gif" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Orbital_inclination_from_momentum_vector.gif/220px-Orbital_inclination_from_momentum_vector.gif" decoding="async" width="220" height="165" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Orbital_inclination_from_momentum_vector.gif/330px-Orbital_inclination_from_momentum_vector.gif 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Orbital_inclination_from_momentum_vector.gif 2x" data-file-width="389" data-file-height="291" /></a><figcaption>Components of the calculation of the orbital inclination from the momentum vector</figcaption></figure> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Astrodynamics" class="mw-redirect" title="Astrodynamics">astrodynamics</a>, the inclination <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle i}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>i</mi> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle i}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/add78d8608ad86e54951b8c8bd6c8d8416533d20" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:0.802ex; height:2.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle i}"></span> can be computed from the <a href="/wiki/Orbital_momentum_vector" class="mw-redirect" title="Orbital momentum vector">orbital momentum vector</a> <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle h}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>h</mi> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle h}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/b26be3e694314bc90c3215047e4a2010c6ee184a" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:1.339ex; height:2.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle h}"></span> (or any vector perpendicular to the <a href="/wiki/Orbital_plane_(astronomy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Orbital plane (astronomy)">orbital plane</a>) as <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-display mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle i=\arccos {\frac {h_{z}}{\left|h\right|}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>i</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mi>arccos</mi> <mo>⁡<!-- --></mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <msub> <mi>h</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>z</mi> </mrow> </msub> <mrow> <mo>|</mo> <mi>h</mi> <mo>|</mo> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle i=\arccos {\frac {h_{z}}{\left|h\right|}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/9da25a1e357520c04a7ddc2bf3ee7fb41ea65c32" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-display mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.671ex; width:13.974ex; height:6.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle i=\arccos {\frac {h_{z}}{\left|h\right|}}}"></span> where <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle h_{z}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <msub> <mi>h</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi>z</mi> </mrow> </msub> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle h_{z}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/453e3ca341aeff78130e772d48b352a68eaadfd7" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.671ex; width:2.341ex; height:2.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle h_{z}}"></span> is the z-component of <span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle h}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mi>h</mi> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle h}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/b26be3e694314bc90c3215047e4a2010c6ee184a" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.338ex; width:1.339ex; height:2.176ex;" alt="{\displaystyle h}"></span>. </p><p>Mutual inclination of two orbits may be calculated from their inclinations to another plane using <a href="/wiki/Spherical_law_of_cosines" title="Spherical law of cosines">cosine rule for angles</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Observations_and_theories">Observations and theories</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Observations and theories"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Most planetary orbits in the Solar System have relatively small inclinations, both in relation to each other and to the Sun's equator: </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"> <tbody><tr> <th rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="background:#DDEEFF;">Body </th> <th colspan="10">Inclination to </th></tr> <tr style="font-size:smaller;"> <th><a href="/wiki/Ecliptic" title="Ecliptic">Ecliptic</a> </th> <th>Sun's <br />equator </th> <th><a href="/wiki/Invariable_plane" title="Invariable plane">Invariable<br /> plane</a><sup id="cite_ref-meanplane_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-meanplane-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </th></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="4" style="background:#DDEEFF;"><a href="/wiki/Terrestrial_planet" title="Terrestrial planet">Terre-<br />strials</a> </th> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Mercury_(planet)" title="Mercury (planet)">Mercury</a> </td> <td>7.01° </td> <td>3.38° </td> <td>6.34° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Venus" title="Venus">Venus</a> </td> <td>3.39° </td> <td>3.86° </td> <td>2.19° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Earth" title="Earth">Earth</a> </td> <td><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;">0°</div> </td> <td>7.25°<sup id="cite_ref-NASA_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-NASA-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>1.57° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Mars" title="Mars">Mars</a> </td> <td>1.85° </td> <td>5.65° </td> <td>1.67° </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="4" style="background:#DDEEFF;"><a href="/wiki/Gas_giant" title="Gas giant">Gas &</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Ice_giant" title="Ice giant">ice<br />giants</a> </th> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Jupiter" title="Jupiter">Jupiter</a> </td> <td>1.31° </td> <td>6.09° </td> <td>0.32° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Saturn" title="Saturn">Saturn</a> </td> <td>2.49° </td> <td>5.51° </td> <td>0.93° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Uranus" title="Uranus">Uranus</a> </td> <td>0.77° </td> <td>6.48° </td> <td>1.02° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Neptune" title="Neptune">Neptune</a> </td> <td>1.77° </td> <td>6.43° </td> <td>0.72° </td></tr> <tr> <th rowspan="4" style="background:#DDEEFF;"><a href="/wiki/Minor_planet" title="Minor planet">Minor<br />planets</a> </th> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Pluto" title="Pluto">Pluto</a> </td> <td>17.14° </td> <td>11.88° </td> <td>15.55° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/Ceres_(dwarf_planet)" title="Ceres (dwarf planet)">Ceres</a> </td> <td>10.59° </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">  </td> <td>9.20° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/2_Pallas" title="2 Pallas">Pallas</a> </td> <td>34.83° </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">  </td> <td>34.21° </td></tr> <tr> <td style="text-align:left;"><a href="/wiki/4_Vesta" title="4 Vesta">Vesta</a> </td> <td>5.58° </td> <td data-sort-value="" style="background: var(--background-color-interactive, #ececec); color: var(--color-base, inherit); vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" class="table-na">  </td> <td>7.13° </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>On the other hand, the <a href="/wiki/Dwarf_planet" title="Dwarf planet">dwarf planets</a> <a href="/wiki/Pluto" title="Pluto">Pluto</a> and <a href="/wiki/Eris_(dwarf_planet)" title="Eris (dwarf planet)">Eris</a> have inclinations to the ecliptic of 17° and 44° respectively, and the large <a href="/wiki/Asteroid" title="Asteroid">asteroid</a> <a href="/wiki/2_Pallas" title="2 Pallas">Pallas</a> is inclined at 34°. </p><p>In 1966, <a href="/wiki/Peter_Goldreich" title="Peter Goldreich">Peter Goldreich</a> published a classic paper on the evolution of <a href="/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon" title="Orbit of the Moon">the Moon's orbit</a> and on the orbits of other moons in the Solar System.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> He showed that, for each planet, there is a distance such that moons closer to the planet than that distance maintain an almost constant orbital inclination with respect to the planet's equator (with an <a href="/wiki/Nodal_precession" title="Nodal precession">orbital precession</a> mostly due to the tidal influence of the planet), whereas moons farther away maintain an almost constant orbital inclination with respect to the <a href="/wiki/Ecliptic" title="Ecliptic">ecliptic</a> (with precession due mostly to the tidal influence of the sun). The moons in the first category, with the exception of <a href="/wiki/Neptune" title="Neptune">Neptune</a>'s moon <a href="/wiki/Triton_(moon)" title="Triton (moon)">Triton</a>, orbit near the equatorial plane. He concluded that these moons formed from equatorial <a href="/wiki/Accretion_disk" title="Accretion disk">accretion disks</a>. But he found that the Moon, although it was once inside the critical distance from the Earth, never had an equatorial orbit as would be expected from various <a href="/wiki/Origin_of_the_Moon" title="Origin of the Moon">scenarios for its origin</a>. This is called the lunar inclination problem, to which various solutions have since been proposed.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Other_meaning">Other meaning</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Other meaning"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>For planets and other rotating celestial bodies, the angle of the equatorial plane relative to the orbital plane – such as the tilt of the Earth's poles toward or away from the Sun – is sometimes also called inclination, but less ambiguous terms are <a href="/wiki/Axial_tilt" title="Axial tilt">axial tilt</a> or obliquity. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/60px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/80px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Look up <i><b><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inclination" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:inclination">inclination</a></b></i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.</div></div> </div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Horizontal_coordinate_system" title="Horizontal coordinate system">Horizontal coordinate system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Axial_parallelism" title="Axial parallelism">Axial parallelism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Axial_tilt" title="Axial tilt">Axial tilt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Azimuth" title="Azimuth">Azimuth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beta_angle" title="Beta angle">Beta angle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kepler_orbit" title="Kepler orbit">Kepler orbits</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kozai_mechanism" title="Kozai mechanism">Kozai mechanism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination_change" title="Orbital inclination change">Orbital inclination change</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_pole" title="Orbital pole">Orbital pole</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster#Possible_emergency_procedures" title="Space Shuttle Columbia disaster">Space Shuttle Columbia disaster: Possible emergency procedures</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFChobotov2002" class="citation book cs1">Chobotov, Vladimir A. (2002). <i>Orbital Mechanics</i> (3rd ed.). <a href="/wiki/AIAA" class="mw-redirect" title="AIAA">AIAA</a>. pp. 28–30. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-56347-537-5" title="Special:BookSources/1-56347-537-5"><bdi>1-56347-537-5</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Orbital+Mechanics&rft.pages=28-30&rft.edition=3rd&rft.pub=AIAA&rft.date=2002&rft.isbn=1-56347-537-5&rft.aulast=Chobotov&rft.aufirst=Vladimir+A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcBride,_NeilBland,_Philip_A.Gilmour,_Iain2004" class="citation book cs1">McBride, Neil; Bland, Philip A.; Gilmour, Iain (2004). <i>An Introduction to the Solar System</i>. <a href="/wiki/Cambridge_University_Press" title="Cambridge University Press">Cambridge University Press</a>. p. 248. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-54620-6" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-54620-6"><bdi>0-521-54620-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=An+Introduction+to+the+Solar+System&rft.pages=248&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=0-521-54620-6&rft.au=McBride%2C+Neil&rft.au=Bland%2C+Philip+A.&rft.au=Gilmour%2C+Iain&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:611689/FULLTEXT02.pdf">Arctic Communications System Utilizing Satellites in Highly Elliptical Orbits</a>, Lars Løge – Section 3.1, Page 17</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://epjwoc.epj.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2011/01/epjconf_ohp2010_04003.pdf">Moon formation and orbital evolution in extrasolar planetary systems-A literature review</a>, K Lewis – EPJ Web of Conferences, 2011 – epj-conferences.org</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Campante-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Campante_5-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Campante_5-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTiago_L._Campante2016" class="citation journal cs1">Tiago L. Campante (27 October 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/10DAA84B787CEF3DE91E5398CFB20123/S1743921316006232a.pdf">"Spin-orbit alignment of exoplanet systems: Analysis of an ensemble of asteroseismic observations"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union</i>. <b>11</b> (General Assembly A29B). Cambridge University Press: 636–641. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016IAUFM..29B.636C">2016IAUFM..29B.636C</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS1743921316006232">10.1017/S1743921316006232</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:126328423">126328423</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">27 February</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Proceedings+of+the+International+Astronomical+Union&rft.atitle=Spin-orbit+alignment+of+exoplanet+systems%3A+Analysis+of+an+ensemble+of+asteroseismic+observations&rft.volume=11&rft.issue=General+Assembly+A29B&rft.pages=636-641&rft.date=2016-10-27&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A126328423%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2FS1743921316006232&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2016IAUFM..29B.636C&rft.au=Tiago+L.+Campante&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2Fcore%2Fservices%2Faop-cambridge-core%2Fcontent%2Fview%2F10DAA84B787CEF3DE91E5398CFB20123%2FS1743921316006232a.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-meanplane-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-meanplane_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHeider,_K.P.2009" class="citation web cs1">Heider, K.P. (3 April 2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130603143144/http://home.surewest.net/kheider/astro/MeanPlane.gif">"The mean plane (invariable plane) of the Solar System passing through the barycenter"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://home.surewest.net/kpheider/astro/MeanPlane.gif">the original</a> on 3 June 2013<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">10 April</span> 2009</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=The+mean+plane+%28invariable+plane%29+of+the+Solar+System+passing+through+the+barycenter&rft.date=2009-04-03&rft.au=Heider%2C+K.P.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fhome.surewest.net%2Fkpheider%2Fastro%2FMeanPlane.gif&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span> <dl><dd>produced using <br /></dd></dl> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVitagliano" class="citation web cs1">Vitagliano, Aldo. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150524145440/http://chemistry.unina.it/~alvitagl/solex/">"Solex 10"</a> (computer program). <a href="/wiki/University_of_Naples_Federico_II" title="University of Naples Federico II">Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://chemistry.unina.it/~alvitagl/solex/">the original</a> on 24 May 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">23 November</span> 2010</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Solex+10&rft.pub=Universit%C3%A0+degli+Studi+di+Napoli+Federico+II&rft.aulast=Vitagliano&rft.aufirst=Aldo&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fchemistry.unina.it%2F~alvitagl%2Fsolex%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-NASA-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-NASA_7-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetfact.html">Planetary Fact Sheets</a>, at <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov">http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPeter_Goldreich1966" class="citation journal cs1">Peter Goldreich (November 1966). "History of the Lunar Orbit". <i><a href="/wiki/Reviews_of_Geophysics" title="Reviews of Geophysics">Reviews of Geophysics</a></i>. <b>4</b> (4): 411–439. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1966RvGSP...4..411G">1966RvGSP...4..411G</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1029%2FRG004i004p00411">10.1029/RG004i004p00411</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Reviews+of+Geophysics&rft.atitle=History+of+the+Lunar+Orbit&rft.volume=4&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=411-439&rft.date=1966-11&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1029%2FRG004i004p00411&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1966RvGSP...4..411G&rft.au=Peter+Goldreich&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span> Termed "classic" by <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJihad_Touma_&_Jack_Wisdom1994" class="citation journal cs1"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Jihad_Touma&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Jihad Touma (page does not exist)">Jihad Touma</a> & <a href="/wiki/Jack_Wisdom" title="Jack Wisdom">Jack Wisdom</a> (November 1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1086%2F117209">"Evolution of the Earth-Moon system"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Astronomical_Journal" title="The Astronomical Journal">The Astronomical Journal</a></i>. <b>108</b>: 1943. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994AJ....108.1943T">1994AJ....108.1943T</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1086%2F117209">10.1086/117209</a></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Astronomical+Journal&rft.atitle=Evolution+of+the+Earth-Moon+system&rft.volume=108&rft.pages=1943&rft.date=1994-11&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1086%2F117209&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F1994AJ....108.1943T&rft.au=Jihad+Touma+%26+Jack+Wisdom&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1086%252F117209&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKaveh_Pahlevan_&_Alessandro_Morbidelli2015" class="citation journal cs1">Kaveh Pahlevan & Alessandro Morbidelli (26 November 2015). "Collisionless encounters and the origin of the lunar inclination". <i>Nature</i>. <b>527</b> (7579): 492–494. <a href="/wiki/ArXiv_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ArXiv (identifier)">arXiv</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.06515">1603.06515</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Bibcode (identifier)">Bibcode</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015Natur.527..492P">2015Natur.527..492P</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature16137">10.1038/nature16137</a>. <a href="/wiki/PMID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="PMID (identifier)">PMID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26607544">26607544</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4456736">4456736</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Nature&rft.atitle=Collisionless+encounters+and+the+origin+of+the+lunar+inclination&rft.volume=527&rft.issue=7579&rft.pages=492-494&rft.date=2015-11-26&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A4456736%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Abibcode%2F2015Natur.527..492P&rft_id=info%3Aarxiv%2F1603.06515&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F26607544&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1038%2Fnature16137&rft.au=Kaveh+Pahlevan+%26+Alessandro+Morbidelli&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrbital+inclination" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Gravitational_orbits" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Orbits" title="Template:Orbits"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Orbits" title="Template talk:Orbits"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Orbits" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Orbits"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Gravitational_orbits" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Gravitational <a href="/wiki/Orbit" title="Orbit">orbits</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_orbits" title="List of orbits">Types</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">General</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Box_orbit" title="Box orbit">Box</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory" title="Parabolic trajectory">Capture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Circular_orbit" title="Circular orbit">Circular</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elliptic_orbit" title="Elliptic orbit">Elliptical</a> / <a href="/wiki/Highly_elliptical_orbit" title="Highly elliptical orbit">Highly elliptical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory" title="Parabolic trajectory">Escape</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Horseshoe_orbit" title="Horseshoe orbit">Horseshoe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hyperbolic_trajectory" title="Hyperbolic trajectory">Hyperbolic trajectory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inclined_orbit" title="Inclined orbit">Inclined</a> / <a href="/wiki/Non-inclined_orbit" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-inclined orbit">Non-inclined</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kepler_orbit" title="Kepler orbit">Kepler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lagrange_point" title="Lagrange point">Lagrange point</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Osculating_orbit" title="Osculating orbit">Osculating</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parabolic_trajectory" title="Parabolic trajectory">Parabolic trajectory</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parking_orbit" title="Parking orbit">Parking</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Retrograde_and_prograde_motion" title="Retrograde and prograde motion">Prograde / Retrograde</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Synchronous_orbit" title="Synchronous orbit">Synchronous</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Semi-synchronous_orbit" title="Semi-synchronous orbit">semi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subsynchronous_orbit" title="Subsynchronous orbit">sub</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit" title="Hohmann transfer orbit">Transfer orbit</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em"><a href="/wiki/Geocentric_orbit" title="Geocentric orbit">Geocentric</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Geosynchronous_orbit" title="Geosynchronous orbit">Geosynchronous</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Geostationary_orbit" title="Geostationary orbit">Geostationary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geostationary_transfer_orbit" title="Geostationary transfer orbit">Geostationary transfer</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Graveyard_orbit" title="Graveyard orbit">Graveyard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/High_Earth_orbit" title="High Earth orbit">High Earth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Low_Earth_orbit" title="Low Earth orbit">Low Earth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Medium_Earth_orbit" title="Medium Earth orbit">Medium Earth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Molniya_orbit" title="Molniya orbit">Molniya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Near-equatorial_orbit" title="Near-equatorial orbit">Near-equatorial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon" title="Orbit of the Moon">Orbit of the Moon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polar_orbit" title="Polar orbit">Polar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit" title="Sun-synchronous orbit">Sun-synchronous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transatmospheric_orbit" title="Transatmospheric orbit">Transatmospheric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tundra_orbit" title="Tundra orbit">Tundra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Very_low_Earth_orbit" title="Very low Earth orbit">Very low Earth</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">About<br />other points</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li>Mars <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Areocentric_orbit" title="Areocentric orbit">Areocentric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Areosynchronous_orbit" title="Areosynchronous orbit">Areosynchronous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Areostationary_orbit" title="Areostationary orbit">Areostationary</a></li></ul></li> <li>Lagrange points <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Distant_retrograde_orbit" title="Distant retrograde orbit">Distant retrograde</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halo_orbit" title="Halo orbit">Halo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lissajous_orbit" title="Lissajous orbit">Lissajous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Libration_point_orbit" title="Libration point orbit">Libration</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_orbit" title="Lunar orbit">Lunar</a></li> <li>Sun <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Heliocentric_orbit" title="Heliocentric orbit">Heliocentric</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Earth%27s_orbit" title="Earth's orbit">Earth's orbit</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mars_cycler" title="Mars cycler">Mars cycler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sun-synchronous_orbit" title="Sun-synchronous orbit">Heliosynchronous</a></li></ul></li> <li>Other <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lunar_cycler" title="Lunar cycler">Lunar cycler</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_elements" title="Orbital elements">Parameters</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em"><div class="hlist"><ul><li>Shape</li><li>Size</li></ul></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">e</span>  <a href="/wiki/Orbital_eccentricity" title="Orbital eccentricity">Eccentricity</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">a</span>  <a href="/wiki/Semi-major_and_semi-minor_axes" title="Semi-major and semi-minor axes">Semi-major axis</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">b</span>  <a href="/wiki/Semi-major_and_semi-minor_axes" title="Semi-major and semi-minor axes">Semi-minor axis</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Q</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">q</span>  <a href="/wiki/Apsis" title="Apsis">Apsides</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">Orientation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">i</span>  <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Inclination</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">Ω</span>  <a href="/wiki/Longitude_of_the_ascending_node" title="Longitude of the ascending node">Longitude of the ascending node</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ω</span>  <a href="/wiki/Argument_of_periapsis" title="Argument of periapsis">Argument of periapsis</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ϖ</span>  <a href="/wiki/Longitude_of_the_periapsis" class="mw-redirect" title="Longitude of the periapsis">Longitude of the periapsis</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">Position</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">M</span>  <a href="/wiki/Mean_anomaly" title="Mean anomaly">Mean anomaly</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">ν</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">θ</span>, <span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">f</span>  <a href="/wiki/True_anomaly" title="True anomaly">True anomaly</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">E</span>  <a href="/wiki/Eccentric_anomaly" title="Eccentric anomaly">Eccentric anomaly</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">L</span>  <a href="/wiki/Mean_longitude" title="Mean longitude">Mean longitude</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">l</span>  <a href="/wiki/True_longitude" title="True longitude">True longitude</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6em">Variation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">T</span>  <a href="/wiki/Orbital_period" title="Orbital period">Orbital period</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">n</span>  <a href="/wiki/Mean_motion" title="Mean motion">Mean motion</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml mvar" style="font-style:italic;">v</span>  <a href="/wiki/Orbital_speed" title="Orbital speed">Orbital speed</a></li> <li><span class="texhtml"><i>t</i><sub>0</sub></span>  <a href="/wiki/Epoch_(astronomy)" title="Epoch (astronomy)">Epoch</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_maneuver" title="Orbital maneuver">Maneuvers</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bi-elliptic_transfer" title="Bi-elliptic transfer">Bi-elliptic transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Collision_avoidance_(spacecraft)" title="Collision avoidance (spacecraft)">Collision avoidance (spacecraft)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Delta-v" title="Delta-v">Delta-v</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Delta-v_budget" title="Delta-v budget">Delta-v budget</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gravity_assist" title="Gravity assist">Gravity assist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gravity_turn" title="Gravity turn">Gravity turn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit" title="Hohmann transfer orbit">Hohmann transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_inclination_change" title="Orbital inclination change">Inclination change</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Low-energy_transfer" title="Low-energy transfer">Low-energy transfer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oberth_effect" title="Oberth effect">Oberth effect</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbit_phasing" title="Orbit phasing">Phasing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation" title="Tsiolkovsky rocket equation">Rocket equation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Space_rendezvous" title="Space rendezvous">Rendezvous</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trans-lunar_injection" title="Trans-lunar injection">Trans-lunar injection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transposition,_docking,_and_extraction" title="Transposition, docking, and extraction">Transposition, docking, and extraction</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Orbital_mechanics" title="Orbital mechanics">Orbital<br />mechanics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Astronomical_coordinate_systems" title="Astronomical coordinate systems">Astronomical coordinate systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Characteristic_energy" title="Characteristic energy">Characteristic energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Escape_velocity" title="Escape velocity">Escape velocity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ephemeris" title="Ephemeris">Ephemeris</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Equatorial_coordinate_system" title="Equatorial coordinate system">Equatorial coordinate system</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ground_track" class="mw-redirect" title="Ground track">Ground track</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hill_sphere" title="Hill sphere">Hill sphere</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interplanetary_Transport_Network" title="Interplanetary Transport Network">Interplanetary Transport Network</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kepler%27s_laws_of_planetary_motion" title="Kepler's laws of planetary motion">Kepler's laws of planetary motion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lagrange_point" title="Lagrange point">Lagrangian point</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/N-body_problem" title="N-body problem"><i>n</i>-body problem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbit_equation" title="Orbit equation">Orbit equation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orbital_state_vectors" title="Orbital state vectors">Orbital state vectors</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Perturbation_(astronomy)" title="Perturbation (astronomy)">Perturbation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Retrograde_and_prograde_motion" title="Retrograde and prograde motion">Retrograde and prograde motion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Specific_orbital_energy" title="Specific orbital energy">Specific orbital energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Specific_angular_momentum" title="Specific angular momentum">Specific angular momentum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Two-line_element_set" title="Two-line element set">Two-line elements</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="List-Class article"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/16px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/23px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/db/Symbol_list_class.svg/31px-Symbol_list_class.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="185" /></span></span> <a href="/wiki/List_of_orbits" title="List of orbits">List of orbits</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1130092004">.mw-parser-output .portal-bar{font-size:88%;font-weight:bold;display:flex;justify-content:center;align-items:baseline}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-bordered{padding:0 2em;background-color:#fdfdfd;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;clear:both;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-related{font-size:100%;justify-content:flex-start}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-unbordered{padding:0 1.7em;margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-header{margin:0 1em 0 0.5em;flex:0 0 auto;min-height:24px}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-content{display:flex;flex-flow:row wrap;flex:0 1 auto;padding:0.15em 0;column-gap:1em;align-items:baseline;margin:0;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-content-related{margin:0;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-item{display:inline-block;margin:0.15em 0.2em;min-height:24px;line-height:24px}@media screen and (max-width:768px){.mw-parser-output .portal-bar{font-size:88%;font-weight:bold;display:flex;flex-flow:column wrap;align-items:baseline}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-header{text-align:center;flex:0;padding-left:0.5em;margin:0 auto}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-related{font-size:100%;align-items:flex-start}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-content{display:flex;flex-flow:row wrap;align-items:center;flex:0;column-gap:1em;border-top:1px solid #a2a9b1;margin:0 auto;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portal-bar-content-related{border-top:none;margin:0;list-style:none}}.mw-parser-output .navbox+link+.portal-bar,.mw-parser-output .navbox+style+.portal-bar,.mw-parser-output .navbox+link+.portal-bar-bordered,.mw-parser-output .navbox+style+.portal-bar-bordered,.mw-parser-output .sister-bar+link+.portal-bar,.mw-parser-output .sister-bar+style+.portal-bar,.mw-parser-output .portal-bar+.navbox-styles+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .portal-bar+.navbox-styles+.sister-bar{margin-top:-1px}</style><div class="portal-bar noprint metadata noviewer portal-bar-bordered" role="navigation" aria-label="Portals"><span class="portal-bar-header"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents/Portals" title="Wikipedia:Contents/Portals">Portals</a>:</span><ul class="portal-bar-content"><li class="portal-bar-item"><span class="nowrap"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Stylised_atom_with_three_Bohr_model_orbits_and_stylised_nucleus.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Stylised_atom_with_three_Bohr_model_orbits_and_stylised_nucleus.svg/17px-Stylised_atom_with_three_Bohr_model_orbits_and_stylised_nucleus.svg.png" decoding="async" width="17" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Stylised_atom_with_three_Bohr_model_orbits_and_stylised_nucleus.svg/26px-Stylised_atom_with_three_Bohr_model_orbits_and_stylised_nucleus.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Stylised_atom_with_three_Bohr_model_orbits_and_stylised_nucleus.svg/34px-Stylised_atom_with_three_Bohr_model_orbits_and_stylised_nucleus.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="530" data-file-height="600" /></a></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Physics" title="Portal:Physics">Physics</a></li><li class="portal-bar-item"><span class="nowrap"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Crab_Nebula.jpg/19px-Crab_Nebula.jpg" decoding="async" width="19" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Crab_Nebula.jpg/29px-Crab_Nebula.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Crab_Nebula.jpg/38px-Crab_Nebula.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3864" data-file-height="3864" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Astronomy" title="Portal:Astronomy">Astronomy</a></li><li class="portal-bar-item"><span class="nowrap"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:He1523a.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/He1523a.jpg/16px-He1523a.jpg" decoding="async" width="16" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/He1523a.jpg/25px-He1523a.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/He1523a.jpg/33px-He1523a.jpg 2x" data-file-width="180" data-file-height="207" /></a></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Stars" title="Portal:Stars">Stars</a></li><li class="portal-bar-item"><span class="nowrap"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/RocketSunIcon.svg/19px-RocketSunIcon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="19" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/RocketSunIcon.svg/29px-RocketSunIcon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/RocketSunIcon.svg/38px-RocketSunIcon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Spaceflight" title="Portal:Spaceflight">Spaceflight</a></li><li class="portal-bar-item"><span class="nowrap"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Earth-moon.jpg/21px-Earth-moon.jpg" decoding="async" width="21" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Earth-moon.jpg/32px-Earth-moon.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Earth-moon.jpg/42px-Earth-moon.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3000" data-file-height="2400" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Outer_space" title="Portal:Outer space">Outer space</a></li><li class="portal-bar-item"><span class="nowrap"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Solar_system.jpg/15px-Solar_system.jpg" decoding="async" width="15" height="19" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Solar_system.jpg/23px-Solar_system.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Solar_system.jpg/30px-Solar_system.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4500" data-file-height="5600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Solar_System" title="Portal:Solar System">Solar System</a></li></ul></div> <!-- NewPP limit report Parsed by mw‐web.eqiad.main‐565d46677b‐vlw77 Cached time: 20241128122006 Cache expiry: 2592000 Reduced expiry: false Complications: [vary‐revision‐sha1, show‐toc] CPU time usage: 0.444 seconds Real time usage: 0.658 seconds Preprocessor visited node count: 1792/1000000 Post‐expand include size: 85867/2097152 bytes Template argument size: 4998/2097152 bytes Highest expansion depth: 13/100 Expensive parser function count: 11/500 Unstrip recursion depth: 1/20 Unstrip post‐expand size: 63742/5000000 bytes Lua time usage: 0.272/10.000 seconds Lua memory usage: 6419278/52428800 bytes Number of Wikibase entities loaded: 0/400 --> <!-- Transclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template) 100.00% 504.152 1 -total 25.03% 126.200 1 Template:Reflist 20.50% 103.360 1 Template:Astrodynamics 19.90% 100.332 1 Template:Sidebar_with_collapsible_lists 15.09% 76.077 2 Template:Cite_book 11.33% 57.110 3 Template:Navbox 9.96% 50.238 1 Template:Short_description 9.85% 49.641 1 Template:Orbits 8.61% 43.387 1 Template:Portal_bar 7.91% 39.868 5 Template:Longitem --> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwiki:pcache:56440:|#|:idhash:canonical and timestamp 20241128122006 and revision id 1181523461. Rendering was triggered because: page-view --> </div><!--esi <esi:include src="/esitest-fa8a495983347898/content" /> --><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&oldid=1181523461">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&oldid=1181523461</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Orbits" title="Category:Orbits">Orbits</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_December_2022" title="Category:Use dmy dates from December 2022">Use dmy dates from December 2022</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description matches Wikidata">Short description matches Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements" title="Category:All articles with unsourced statements">All articles with unsourced statements</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_May_2014" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from May 2014">Articles with unsourced statements from May 2014</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 23 October 2023, at 15:40<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orbital_inclination&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-847495b4dd-pdcrx","wgBackendResponseTime":130,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.444","walltime":"0.658","ppvisitednodes":{"value":1792,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":85867,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":4998,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":13,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":11,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":63742,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 504.152 1 -total"," 25.03% 126.200 1 Template:Reflist"," 20.50% 103.360 1 Template:Astrodynamics"," 19.90% 100.332 1 Template:Sidebar_with_collapsible_lists"," 15.09% 76.077 2 Template:Cite_book"," 11.33% 57.110 3 Template:Navbox"," 9.96% 50.238 1 Template:Short_description"," 9.85% 49.641 1 Template:Orbits"," 8.61% 43.387 1 Template:Portal_bar"," 7.91% 39.868 5 Template:Longitem"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.272","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":6419278,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.eqiad.main-565d46677b-vlw77","timestamp":"20241128122006","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Orbital inclination","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Orbital_inclination","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q4112212","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q4112212","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2002-06-13T01:07:43Z","dateModified":"2023-10-23T15:40:51Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/e\/eb\/Orbit1.svg","headline":"angle between a reference plane and the plane of an orbit"}</script> </body> </html>