galactic plane

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. the plane of the galactic equator.

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galactic plane British  

noun

1. the plane passing through the spiral arms of the Galaxy

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Etymology

Origin of galactic plane

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

But because the signals emanate from the crowded galactic plane, optical telescopes could not see which of many stars might be producing them.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 3, 2024

By studying magnesium atom emission signals, the team was also able to map the morphology of these winds, which appear as cones of matter perpendicularly ejected from both sides of the galactic plane.

From Science Daily • Dec. 6, 2023

We found, surprisingly, a distribution of filaments parallel to the galactic plane.

From Scientific American • Jun. 22, 2023

Astronomers have detected a new set of whiskers on the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy: filaments of radio energy a few light-years long, and streaming outward along the galactic plane.

From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2023

Globular clusters plunge through the galactic plane and out the other side, where they slow, reverse and hurtle back again.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan