Mercury has the planetary orbit that has the greatest inclination to both the ecliptic and the invariable plane.
Pluto is the odd man out. -- Orbit with greatest eccentricity (0.249). -- Greatest orbital period (248 years). -- Lowest mean surface temperature ( -225 C ) -- Lowest mean orbital velocity (2.93 mi/sec) -- Smallest escape velocity (0.7 mi/sec, less than earth's moon) ==> Greatest inclination of orbit to the ecliptic: 17.2 degrees.
mercury has the greatest orbital inclination
The Moon's orbit is tilted by a maximum of 5.2º to the ecliptic, so that's the greatest angular distance above or below it, as seen from the center of the Earth.
Uranus has the greatest orbital inclination among the planets in our solar system, with an inclination of approximately 97.8 degrees. This means that Uranus's orbit is tilted almost perpendicular to the plane of the solar system.
Mercury has the planetary orbit that has the greatest inclination to both the ecliptic and the invariable plane.
Pluto is the odd man out. -- Orbit with greatest eccentricity (0.249). -- Greatest orbital period (248 years). -- Lowest mean surface temperature ( -225 C ) -- Lowest mean orbital velocity (2.93 mi/sec) -- Smallest escape velocity (0.7 mi/sec, less than earth's moon) ==> Greatest inclination of orbit to the ecliptic: 17.2 degrees.
mercury has the greatest orbital inclination
The planet with the greatest inclination relative to the ecliptic is Mercury, at about seven degrees. This is over twice the inclination of any other planet (Venus comes in second at about 3.4 degrees), but even so it's not all that high: Pluto's inclination is over 17 degrees, one (of many) reasons a lot of people felt that calling it a planet was a One of These Things Is Not Like the Others situation.
The Moon's orbit is tilted by a maximum of 5.2º to the ecliptic, so that's the greatest angular distance above or below it, as seen from the center of the Earth.
Uranus has the greatest orbital inclination among the planets in our solar system, with an inclination of approximately 97.8 degrees. This means that Uranus's orbit is tilted almost perpendicular to the plane of the solar system.
The Earth.
The inclination of Venus is about 3.4 degrees from the ecliptic plane. But its axial tilt (relative to its orbital plane) is much smaller, about 2.64 degrees. This would only be important if Venus could have seasons, which is unlikely given the planetwide distribution of solar heat by the dense atmosphere, and the lack of any direct sunlight reaching the surface.
The plane of the Earth's orbit IS the ecliptic, so by definition, Earth has the lowest inclination to the ecliptic at "zero". But Neptune is the next lowest at 0.77 degrees, and Jupiter next at 1.31 degrees.
Mars has an orbital inclination of about 1.85 degrees in relation to the ecliptic plane. This slight tilt of Mars' orbit means that it does not always align perfectly with the plane of the solar system.
The orbital inclination of Neptune is approximately 1.77 degrees relative to the plane of the ecliptic, which is the plane in which Earth orbits the Sun. This means that Neptune's orbit is tilted by around 1.77 degrees compared to the average plane of the solar system.
For convenience, Earth's orbit is considered to be at 0 degrees inclination. All other planets' orbits are compared with Earth's orbital tilt.