Why are all the planets more or less on one plane?

Question

When looking at a model of the solar system, what caused all of the planets (RIP Pluto) to eventually settle on one plane? I would think that after the Big Bang all of the matter would have been scattered 3-dimensionally (which i'm sure it was), then why aren't the planets circling all over the sun? On the same note, larger scale, same action with galaxies.

Answer 1

The big bang has nothing to do with it at this scale. Our solar system is not that old and is made from the stuff of previous exploding stars. I believe the theory is that we were part of a nebula that was likely compressed by the shock wave from a supernova. As the gases and dust started collapsing it didn't fall straight into the center or it would be part of the sun. As the cloud condensed and collapsed, it accelerated. Gravity pulled matter down into the plane, which had the highest density, and momentum kept the planets in orbit on the plane.

We are indeed on a disk much like the rings of saturn. Other planets can be captured and the disk is not perfect but it is far from random.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ra4-protoplanetary-disk.jpg

Answer 2

Because first you have a big ball that is the dust of exploded stars gathering together (Moby's, "we are all made of stars" is not a methaphor, it is the simple truth, everything you see around you, from the pizza you ate for dinner last night to your lover's nipples, were once in the centre of a star.

So this big ball of dust starts to spin, slowly and first then getting faster and faster. Because it is spinning, it forms a disk. The various parts of the disk come to together to form the planets.

And bingo, pluto turns up, maybe a rouge planet rocking in for a party, all at a crazy angle, like a punk rocker at a emo concert.

Answer 3

umm, well usually they're portrayed as staying in a single plane with the sun being a point in the center of the 2 axes, but as I said, I think that's just how its portrayed. Gravity pulls from all degrees, so I highly doubt it's all in one plane. The planets may have a set path revolving around the sun, so it's most probable that the planet will collide but... what do I know?

Answer 4

They are not all on the same plane. It's just easier to build models and show the universe that way. The planets, stars and galaxies really are scattered all over the place!!

Answer 5

Oh, you're wondering how there's uniformity when the universe is said to hove come about by a "big bang." Dude, the big bang is a lie; if humans came about by a "bang," I'd expect each or us to have eyes on other place of our bodies than on our faces. There's defnately a better explanation how our world came about than a "big bang."

Answer 6

Go with bravozulu's answer. He da man..!