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The galactic plane is the plane on which the majority of a disk-shaped galaxy's mass lies. The directions perpendicular to the galactic plane point to the galactic poles. In actual usage, the terms galactic plane and galactic poles usually refer specifically to the plane and poles of the Milky Way, in which Planet Earth is located.
This revolution is known as the Solar System's galactic year. [273] The solar apex, the direction of the Sun's path through interstellar space, is near the constellation Hercules in the direction of the current location of the bright star Vega. [274] The plane of the ecliptic lies at an angle of about 60° to the galactic plane. [c]
The galactic coordinate system uses the approximate plane of the Milky Way Galaxy as its fundamental plane. The Solar System is still the center of the coordinate system, and the zero point is defined as the direction towards the Galactic Center. Galactic latitude resembles the elevation above the galactic plane and galactic longitude ...
The galactic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system in spherical coordinates, with the Sun as its center, the primary direction aligned with the approximate center of the Milky Way Galaxy, and the fundamental plane parallel to an approximation of the galactic plane but offset to its north.
For a spiral galaxy, this can be obtained from the inclination of the galactic plane to the plane of the sky, and the position angle of the major axis as viewed from Earth. The result yields a direction perpendicular to the galactic plane. [1] In the case of the Milky Way, this is given by the coordinates of the galactic pole.
The Sun is currently 5–30 parsecs (16–98 ly) above, or north of, the central plane of the Galactic disk. [104] The distance between the local arm and the next arm out, the Perseus Arm, is about 2,000 parsecs (6,500 ly). [105] The Sun, and thus the Solar System, is located in the Milky Way's galactic habitable zone. [106] [107]
The origin is the Sun's center, the plane of reference is the ecliptic plane, and the primary direction (the x-axis) is the March equinox. A right-handed rule specifies a y-axis 90° to the east on the fundamental plane. The z-axis points toward the north ecliptic pole. The reference frame is relatively stationary, aligned with the March equinox.
Galaxies and galaxy clusters < 50 M ly away from Earth plotted in the supergalactic plane. The supergalactic coordinate system is a reference frame for the supercluster of galaxies that contains the Milky Way galaxy, referenced to a local relatively flat collection of galaxy clusters used to define the supergalactic plane.