Orbital inclination

<p>Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's <a href="/facts/Orbit/nD2TPySG">orbit</a> around a <a href="/facts/Astronomical_object/BCHLa0Q2">celestial body</a>.  It is expressed as the <a href="/facts/Angle/gFUTEQYq">angle</a> between a <a href="/facts/Plane_of_reference/otIHqWPe">reference plane</a> and the <a href="/facts/Orbital_plane/xPdMmVKP">orbital plane</a> or <a href="/facts/Axis_of_rotation/PGcg3IY5">axis</a> of direction of the orbiting object.
</p><p>For a satellite orbiting the Earth directly above the <a href="/facts/Equator/CjaxbVaN">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 <a href="/facts/Northern_Hemisphere/EFwyqL25">northern hemisphere</a> and half over the southern. If the orbit swung between 20° north <a href="/facts/Latitude/IBYqkjhU">latitude</a> and 20° south latitude, then its orbital inclination would be 20°.
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Orbital inclination open-in-new

Orbital inclination