Is the solor system level, with all the planets on the same plane?

Question

I have seen models of our solor system always portrayed with all the planets on the same plane..... Like a flat dinner plate.
Are the planets really like that or do the different planets in our solar system rotate around the sun at different angles on different planes?
Do the different planets rotate around the sun more like the electrons around the nucleus in the model of an atom, all going in different directions?......or is the solar system flat?
If it is flat, has anyone ever explained why they dont all go around the sun on different planes?
Thanks.

Answer 1

theyre all on a relatively similar plane, the exception being pluto. which orbits the sun at an angle. pluto has been downgraded from a planet, so it doesnt realy count :P

they dont go around in different planes, because the solar systam was formed from a spinning dustcloud. it spun in one singly direction. so any resulting motion, will still be in the same direction, even if gravity has condensed the cloud.

Answer 2

This is an interesting comparison, but it really isn't a good one. For one thing - planets orbit stars because of gravity -- electrons orbit protons/neutrons because one is positively charged and one is negatively charged. For another -- electrons orbit the nucleus extremely fast, while it takes years for most planets to orbit their star. The nucleus of an atom is made of two different atomic particles which are not nuclear reactors -- a star is basically just a gigantic nuclear reactor burning itself up because of its own gravity. More than one electron orbits in each energy level around the nucleus, but if more than one planet orbited around in the same plane it would eventually crash into the other planet and this would create a single planet. Electron orbits are all over the place, while a planet stays on a basically linear orbital plane. --- The reason the comparison seems to make sense is the popular Bohr model of an atom. It is a great way to model an atom, but you have to realize that it is not a very accurate depiction of what an atom really would look like.

Answer 3

nooo they are not on the same plane...on diagrams, they are modeled to look like so to make it easier for the average joe, however some planets are "lower than" the other ones and certain times, What i'm trying to say is, they rotate around the sun on different angles, and from the earth's point of view, some maybe lower or higher. When they all line up however, you can say they are on the same plane

Answer 4

Most of them are resonably close to the same plane. However, if you were to include the minor planet of Pluto, its orbit is highly eliptical and on a much greater angle to usual ecliptic

Answer 5

Orbital inclinations in degrees:

Mercury 7.00
Venus 3.39
Earth 0.00 (by definition)
Mars 1.85
Jupiter 1.31
Saturn 2.49
Uranus 0.77
Neptune 1.77
Pluto 17.15

Answer 6

They are all on relatively the same plane, yes.

Answer 7

No.