What is up? When we look at the solar system the planets are on a level disc shape - but what is up?

Question

Imagine - i am stood at the north pole. I look directly up into the sky what is there? If i stand at the equator and look up i assume i would see the planets of our solar system in their solar orbital plane - at some point allowing for rotation. But at the north and south poles what is up/or down depending on your perspective?

Answer 1

Depends on the way you see it

Answer 2

Most of the planets are more or less in a plane, with some small deviations (except for Pluto but it doesn't count as a planet anymore). There are many asteroids and small objects in the solar system or that pass through it now and then and many of them are outside the plane.

Obviously defining what is "up" and "down" is arbitrary but can be defined based on the rotation of the planets. If you look at the solar system from one side of the plane, perhaps it is natural to say that "up" is towards you if the planets rotate counterclockwise (that should be the natural definition using the classical right-hand rule).

Answer 3

The Planets move around the sun along the suns equator. This is due to the formation of the Sun. As the sun formed the surrounding dust began to rotate around the sun in the same direction of spin. Anything that was not on the equator spiraled into the forming star. The dust left in the circumstellar disk then over time formed into planets that are trapped by the suns gravity. Gravity trys to pull everything into its center so any thing that isnt along the equator of the direction of the spin spirals into the sun trying to hit it dead center. Check the link to get a better understanding.
As for up. There would be no up in space we tend to think of up as anything that is above our heads as up to orientate oursleves in our surroundings.

Answer 4

"Up" is entirely relative. We only use the plane of the ecliptic (the level disc shape) as a horizon, a convenient equator line, the same as we use the Earth's equator line as a reference, so that when we describe "up" or "north" we all look in the same direction.

On the Earth, "up" would be "a direction pointing directly away from the Earth's core". Out there in space ... "up" could be "the direction you point your head to so that your eyes are looking in the direction your spine's pointing".

Answer 5

Planets in solar system originated from the sun due to an explosion like action. As they are part of the star, and the explosion resulated in the debris being thrown in almost like a planar direction, almost all planets circle the mother star in a plane. some deviation is due to the change in direction of the projectile.

Answer 6

When speaking about earth in space, it would be more accurate to speak in terms of to/fro, in/out, or towards/away. Many of us forget that we live in outerspace on one of the the many marbles moving in an eliptical orbit around a star.


Up & Down are relative. Typicaly when refencing directions on earth maps, north is up as, south is to down. This is because the map makerrs & explorers of the dominant culrure were from the northern hemisphere. We Humans tend to reference everything in respect to ourselves If the dominant culture hailed from the southern hemisphere the orientation of the up/down reference would become opposite, thatis to say up would be south & down would be north. This is evidenced by maps used by early African Mariners up through the fall of the Moorish Empire.

Answer 7

The pictures r drawn such a way 2 understand the 3-D view of planets placed in orbits in solar system. Nothing is up, friend...
upper-surface of the planets r up !!

Answer 8

I always thought this was weird too, but apparently it's right.
All of the planets orbit on a flat, level plane, with one single exception.
I don't know which one it is, but it's offset at an angle.

Did you also know that all the planets except one spin in the same direction?
Again, I don't know which one.

Guys, I don't think he meant 'what direction is up?'
I think he meant 'whats up?'

Answer 9

It appears to me that the right hand rule could be used to answer this. Make a fist with your right hand with your fingers going the direction the earth moves around the sun. Point the thumb. That is up.

Answer 10

hahahaha.....the planets are NOT on a flat disc shape! this is only drawn like that so that's easier for us to see the planets. They actually rotate everywhere, up and down, while still staying on their orbit...