I know that one of our planets travels on a course that doesn't fall into the same plain as the others. Could every planet travel in a different plain? Why or why not?
2007-12-29 11:07:14 · 6 answers · asked by Zelda Hunter 7 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
They should be almost in the same plane. If they are not, in course of time they will destabilize each other. Means: they will change each others orbits dramatically in terms of distance to the sun, ellipticity of orbit and angle against other orbits. If then a close encounter between 2 of them occurs, one may well get shot out of the system.
Planetary systems form out of a circumstellar disk of gas and dust, so initially all planets will orbit in roughly the same plane. The conditions for a stable planetary system are subject of increased research currently. Almost all extrasolar planets found yet (about 250) are "Hot Jupiters", Jupiter sized planets orbiting their stars with surprisingly short periods of just a few days (and so very hot). At first that was a big surprise because we would have expected gassy planets like Jupiter much more distant from the star. Meanwhile it is clear why and how they travel that close to the star (interaction between planet and disk it forms out). Nevertheless the dynamics of a building planetary system is researched a lot currently.
2007-12-29 11:31:50 · answer #1 · answered by map 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Some of ours vary a bit and Pluto used to be a planet with a widely plane divergent orbit. Now it's just a big, crazy, rock. The Hubble images have demonstrated that anything is possible, and in existence out there. Boredom doesn't have a chance.
2007-12-29 19:29:33 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Our planets were formed by the aggregation of dust as it orbited in a disk around the sun. Since the dust was in a disk, it formed planets all in the same plane (roughly). If planets were formed in some other way (i.e. captured in orbit by the star's gravity, thrown into orbit after a collision, etc.), then they may or may not end up in the same plane.
2007-12-29 19:24:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
how are you at picturing vectors in your head?
imagine a big rotating ball of gas, circling the new sun. As gravity acts on the cloud it collapses, beginning an orbit around the new star, one big ball of rotating gas....
now, picture a particle of that gas floating along in the plane of rotation. vectors are tiny little arrows representing the forces acting on the particles. One big arrow for the gravity towards the star, balanced by an arrow pointing away, representing the acceleration of the particle as it rotates. There are smaller vectors too. A little arrow pointing up is the attraction of all the particles above it... balanced by an arrow down, the particles pulling at it from below. Everything balances.
If you look at a particle floating ABOVE the plane, these vectors DON'T balance, as gravity from all the particles below it is greater than the few above it, so... it moves lower, until it balances... where? in the plane of rotation.
2007-12-29 22:30:35 · answer #4 · answered by Faesson 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well, all of the planets in our solar system are on different planes. yeah, they are all close, but none are exact. there are dwarf planets in our solar system that are about perpendicular to our earth's orbit
2007-12-29 19:11:24 · answer #5 · answered by brandon 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think so.
During it's formation, the magnetic field of the star will establish the orbital plane around the stars equator.
Call it gravity waves or magnetic waves, it is the same force that makes galaxies flat.
2007-12-29 21:10:24 · answer #6 · answered by autoglide 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋