What is below Earth, since space is present in every direction?
Space • • general
Key Points:
- The planets in our solar system orbit the sun in nearly the same flat plane, called the ecliptic, due to the collapse of the original solar nebula cloud, which flattened into a disc as particles interacted and reoriented their orbits.
- The concept of "down" varies depending on perspective; on a cosmic scale, "down" can be considered as below the ecliptic plane, with planets orbiting counterclockwise above it and clockwise below it.
- Beyond the solar system, stars in the Milky Way orbit close to the galactic plane, which is tilted about 60 degrees relative to the solar system's ecliptic, and galaxies in the Local Group lie mostly within the supergalactic plane, nearly perpendicular
