<p>The ecliptic path, is a well defined trajectory when displayed on the background of the fix stars like in the following figure</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/C0INq.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/C0INq.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>(taken from <a href="http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/SC1/SC1.07.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">physics.csbsju.edu</a>)</p>
<p>However, <strong>there is not such thing as an ecliptic path on the surface of the Earth</strong>. If you thought of it as the &quot;Ground track&quot; of a satellite but applied for the Sun, you have to consider that the rotation of the Earth would make that &quot;ground track&quot; of the Sun look <strong>very</strong> different than the one on the figure above. It would be a spiral going around the Earth ~365 times at latitudes between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (remember that the Sun takes a full year to go trough the ecliptic path).</p>
<p>When the Sun is at its Northernmost declination (the top point of the red curve above), which is ~23° all the points on Earth at latitude ~23° North (the tropic of Cancer) will receive the maximum possible solar irradiation at the solar noon of that day. Once the Sun moves down to declination 22°, it will be the turn of the points at 22° North and so on.</p>
<p>The reason why the Equator is the line that receive the most solar radiation is because it is the one that is <strong>on average</strong> closer to the Sun's ground track (in other words, is the place with the maximum mean solar elevation).</p>
<p>An equivalent visualisation would be to take the mean of the ecliptic, and by looking at the above red line it is quite straightforward to see that it would be a flat line on the celestial equator, that translates to the Earth's equator.</p>
<p>Does that makes sense to you?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-22T01:46:47.163Z
Made perfect sense, I have ignored the effect of rotation. Thx.
ryan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-22T03:49:57.763Z
@ryan Great! Glad to hear that. Cheers
Camilo Rada
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-03-21T20:31:05.573Z
2021-09-23T12:20:34.047Z
2021-09-23T12:20:34.047Z
Camilo Rada
<p>I've always been told that the equator is the region on Earth that receives the most sunlight.</p>

<p>But I wondered, since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ecliptic</a> is the circular path that the Sun appears to follow over the course of a year, then wouldn't the ecliptic path receive more sunlight than the equator? </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T05:52:26.010Z
ryan, are you thinking that because of the ecliptic path, the Tropics of Cancer/Capricorn should have as much or more sunlight than the Equator.... or are you saying that despite the Equator getting more sunlight, the ecliptic (or other factors) would somehow otherwise cause the Tropics of Cancer/Capricorn to overcome the light?
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T06:33:51.983Z
Sorry, I didn't make the question clear. It is ecliptic path versus equator, i mean.
ryan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T07:12:48.850Z
sorry I don't understand what you mean by that :-(  We'll figure it out if we stick with it :-D  Are you saying more sunlight hits the Tropic of Cancer than the Equator... or the same amount... or more sunlight hits the Equator than the Tropic of Cancer?
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T08:03:49.577Z
I mean the ecliptic path, where is not the tropic of Cancer nor the tropic of Capricorn. If I'm not wrong, ecliptic path is another circle that only intersect with Cancer circle at one point.
ryan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-03-21T20:53:42.487Z
@ryan I did some editing of the question to make it more clear. Please let me know if I kept the intended meaning of it. Otherwise, feel free to roll it back to an earlier revision.
Camilo Rada
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-23T11:23:09.847Z
I have the same question as Ryan. What I think Ryan was referring to is sub-polar points. These are points that are directly above an observer, or zenith. Here are some references from Wikipedia. So I would think this should be the real line that divides the earth’s hemispheres. But on an average time scale, equator line should be more accurate, as answered by Camilo, since the sub-polar points change with time. [Lahaina Noon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahaina_Noon) [Sub-polar points](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsolar_point)
Jason C
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-09-23T15:37:18.260Z
In rereading perhaps you are asking whether the total of the ecliptic path receives more than the equator... I'd think the answer should be yes, on any given day the spot where the sun is overhead receives the most?
JeopardyTempest
<geography><astronomy><equator><orbit><insolation>
Why does more sunlight hits the equator than the ecliptic path?
ryan
# Why does more sunlight hits the equator than the ecliptic path?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-03-21)

I've always been told that the equator is the region on Earth that receives the most sunlight.

But I wondered, since the [ecliptic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecliptic) is the circular path that the Sun appears to follow over the course of a year, then wouldn't the ecliptic path receive more sunlight than the equator?

**Tags:** geography, astronomy, equator, orbit, insolation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: username_0, are you thinking that because of the ecliptic path, the Tropics of Cancer/Capricorn should have as much or more sunlight than the Equator.... or are you saying that despite the Equator getting more sunlight, the ecliptic (or other factors) would somehow otherwise cause the Tropics of Cancer/Capricorn to overcome the light?  
> **username_0**: Sorry, I didn't make the question clear. It is ecliptic path versus equator, i mean.  
> **username_1**: sorry I don't understand what you mean by that :-(  We'll figure it out if we stick with it :-D  Are you saying more sunlight hits the Tropic of Cancer than the Equator... or the same amount... or more sunlight hits the Equator than the Tropic of Cancer?  
> **username_0**: I mean the ecliptic path, where is not the tropic of Cancer nor the tropic of Capricorn. If I'm not wrong, ecliptic path is another circle that only intersect with Cancer circle at one point.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 I did some editing of the question to make it more clear. Please let me know if I kept the intended meaning of it. Otherwise, feel free to roll it back to an earlier revision.  
> **username_3**: I have the same question as username_0. What I think username_0 was referring to is sub-polar points. These are points that are directly above an observer, or zenith. Here are some references from Wikipedia. So I would think this should be the real line that divides the earth’s hemispheres. But on an average time scale, equator line should be more accurate, as answered by username_2, since the sub-polar points change with time. [Lahaina Noon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahaina_Noon) [Sub-polar points](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsolar_point)  
> **username_1**: In rereading perhaps you are asking whether the total of the ecliptic path receives more than the equator... I'd think the answer should be yes, on any given day the spot where the sun is overhead receives the most?  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-03-21. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

The ecliptic path, is a well defined trajectory when displayed on the background of the fix stars like in the following figure

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/C0INq.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/C0INq.png)

(taken from [physics.csbsju.edu](http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/astro/SC1/SC1.07.html))

However, **there is not such thing as an ecliptic path on the surface of the Earth**. If you thought of it as the "Ground track" of a satellite but applied for the Sun, you have to consider that the rotation of the Earth would make that "ground track" of the Sun look **very** different than the one on the figure above. It would be a spiral going around the Earth ~365 times at latitudes between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (remember that the Sun takes a full year to go trough the ecliptic path).

When the Sun is at its Northernmost declination (the top point of the red curve above), which is ~23° all the points on Earth at latitude ~23° North (the tropic of Cancer) will receive the maximum possible solar irradiation at the solar noon of that day. Once the Sun moves down to declination 22°, it will be the turn of the points at 22° North and so on.

The reason why the Equator is the line that receive the most solar radiation is because it is the one that is **on average** closer to the Sun's ground track (in other words, is the place with the maximum mean solar elevation).

An equivalent visualisation would be to take the mean of the ecliptic, and by looking at the above red line it is quite straightforward to see that it would be a flat line on the celestial equator, that translates to the Earth's equator.

Does that makes sense to you?

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Made perfect sense, I have ignored the effect of rotation. Thx.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 Great! Glad to hear that. Cheers  

---

