The ecliptic passes clearly through it, but notice that a few degrees off of it, the constellation of Sextans may see the moon or planets passing through it in the band of the zodiac.

By tracking the rotation of the Earth, astronomers can see where the sun, Earth and moon are in relation to the animalistic constellations of the Zodiac.

The Zodiac constellations used today were first established more than 2000 years ago, and since then the precession of the Earth has shifted the path of the ecliptic.

The ecliptic passes through 13 of the 88 constellations in the sky. Astrologers divide the sky into twelve fixed segments and named the zodiac signs after 12 of these 13 constellations.

Consider the ecliptic the long and winding road in the stars. Also, along and on either side of the ecliptic are thirteen constellations referred to as zodiac constellations.

These constellations are found along the ecliptic, the eastward apparent path that the sun traces across Earth's sky, according to Space.com.

Once you think you have the ecliptic spotted, enable your astronomy app's compass mode to confirm it, and see if you can identify the zodiac constellations currently in view.

Constellations that lay on the ecliptic (which will not be visible when the Sun is passing through them) are zodiac constellations.

The ecliptic is the orbital plane of the solar system and it was familiar to your ancestors because the ‘moving stars’ were always seen on that line. That’s why the zodiac constellations are ...

Babylonian astronomers drafted the original Zodiac during the early first millenniua B.C. by determining the position of constellations along various spots of the ecliptic, the path of the sun ...