![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Orbit.svg/langsimple-640px-Orbit.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
Orbital inclination
angle between a reference plane and the plane of an orbit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Orbital inclination is a term for the angle between two orbital planes. It is often used to describe the movement of celestial bodies such as stars and planets.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Orbit.svg/320px-Orbit.svg.png)
One of the planes is the standard, or reference. The galactic plane of a galaxy is often used as the reference.
- For a planet's orbit, the inclination is the angle to the ecliptic plane.
- For a moon, an inclination of 0 degrees means the orbiting body orbits the planet in its equatorial plane, in the same direction as the planet rotates.