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The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun traces out along the sky, in relation to the stars, and aligns with the planets throughout the course of the year. More accurately, it is the intersection of the celestial sphere with the ecliptic plane, which is the geometric plane containing the mean orbit of the Earth around the Sun. It should be distinguished from the invariable ecliptic plane, which is the vector sum of the angular momenta of all planetary orbital planes, to which Jupiter is the main contributor.