Why Do All The Sun’s Planets Orbit In (Almost) The Same Plane?
IFLScience • • science
Key Points:
- Since Copernicus revealed Earth as an orbiter of the Sun, it has been observed that most planets share closely aligned orbits within about seven degrees, suggesting a non-coincidental pattern.
- Jupiter's strong gravity was initially thought to herd planets into alignment, but exceptions like some asteroids, distant comets, and Neptune's position challenge this explanation.
- The prevailing theory is that planets formed from a rotating protoplanetary disk around the young Sun, inheriting its angular momentum and resulting in aligned orbits close to the Sun’s equatorial plane.
- Observations of other star systems, such as TRAPPIST-1, confirm that aligned planetary orbits are common, although some multi-star systems exhibit unusual orbital incl
