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The planets of the Solar System, with the exception
of Pluto, orbit the Sun in
a common plane, known as the plane of the Ecliptic. The Ecliptic Poles represent the ends of an
imaginary line perpendicular to the Ecliptic plane, extending directly 'above' and 'below' it,
with the Northern Pole lying in the central regions of the constellation
Draco. The Earth rotates on its axis at an angle to
the Ecliptic plane, and this means that the Northern
Celestial Pole, based on the Earth's axis, does not coincide closely with the
Northern Ecliptic Pole. In fact, the Celestial Pole pursues a slow circular path
around the Ecliptic Pole, the Precession Circle, which takes more than 25,000
years to complete.
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