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  3. Planetary orbit problems again

Planetary orbit problems again

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  • L Lost User

    The angular momentum wasn't evenly distributed, and one specific direction "won". The rest cancelled out by collision.

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    J Offline
    JLengi
    wrote on last edited by
    #41

    This is the correct answer. And the same answer applies to all systems: why most of the mass of our solar system orbits near the ecliptic; why Saturn's rings are flat; why galaxies are flat; why most moons orbit in the same direction and plane as their planet's equator; etc. That which has not yet "canceled out by collision" remains spherically distributed, i.e., the Oort cloud on the outer reaches of our solar system. And, of course, there were local maxima and minima in the original distribution of angular momentum, which could explain, for example, retrograde orbits and why Uranus and its largest moon Triton rotate and revolve in a different plane from most of the rest of the solar system.

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    • R Rob Philpott

      My last few days have been blighted with doubts about why things often seem to happen on a flat plain in space. As I understand it, which isn't very well, the planets orbit the sun on pretty much a flat plane. I'm wondering why this is, and why shouldn't there being planets going over and under the sun rather than obediently around it. (I think Pluto may make some vein attempt at this). I suspect the reason is the same for the rings of Saturn (why not a sphere) or Galaxies apparently also being quite flat. I have a number of theories, all crap. Anyone cast some light on this?

      Regards, Rob Philpott.

      P Offline
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      Patrick H A C Ens
      wrote on last edited by
      #42

      here take a look youtube - MinutePhysics[^]

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      • R Rob Philpott

        My last few days have been blighted with doubts about why things often seem to happen on a flat plain in space. As I understand it, which isn't very well, the planets orbit the sun on pretty much a flat plane. I'm wondering why this is, and why shouldn't there being planets going over and under the sun rather than obediently around it. (I think Pluto may make some vein attempt at this). I suspect the reason is the same for the rings of Saturn (why not a sphere) or Galaxies apparently also being quite flat. I have a number of theories, all crap. Anyone cast some light on this?

        Regards, Rob Philpott.

        A Offline
        A Offline
        agolddog
        wrote on last edited by
        #43

        Happened to see a talk by Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson last week. While discussing the many things he admits we don't know much about yet (dark matter, dark energy, etc), I want to say he mentioned something along this line. I think I remember him saying that we don't know what causes the rotation of the gas cloud to start in the first place. Once it starts, though, the material in the cloud will accrete into a more-or-less planar structure. I think that was also part of why Pluto was reclassified; they feel that, it was one of these Kuyper belt objects which got dislodged from its normal planar orbit by a passing object, probably another star. But I'm probably way off on what I think I remember and know.

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        • R Rob Philpott

          My last few days have been blighted with doubts about why things often seem to happen on a flat plain in space. As I understand it, which isn't very well, the planets orbit the sun on pretty much a flat plane. I'm wondering why this is, and why shouldn't there being planets going over and under the sun rather than obediently around it. (I think Pluto may make some vein attempt at this). I suspect the reason is the same for the rings of Saturn (why not a sphere) or Galaxies apparently also being quite flat. I have a number of theories, all crap. Anyone cast some light on this?

          Regards, Rob Philpott.

          G Offline
          G Offline
          Gary Huck
          wrote on last edited by
          #44

          Get yourself a little gyroscope and play around with it. Put some water on it and spin it. Maybe food coloring to more easily see the path of where the water spins off. Then consider if that gyro was huge so its gravity could hold things (water drops, ice, rocks, whatev).

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          • R Rob Philpott

            My last few days have been blighted with doubts about why things often seem to happen on a flat plain in space. As I understand it, which isn't very well, the planets orbit the sun on pretty much a flat plane. I'm wondering why this is, and why shouldn't there being planets going over and under the sun rather than obediently around it. (I think Pluto may make some vein attempt at this). I suspect the reason is the same for the rings of Saturn (why not a sphere) or Galaxies apparently also being quite flat. I have a number of theories, all crap. Anyone cast some light on this?

            Regards, Rob Philpott.

            S Offline
            S Offline
            sashaw2
            wrote on last edited by
            #45

            Take a look at this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp5kQtQwPNQ&feature=youtu.be

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            • R Rob Philpott

              My last few days have been blighted with doubts about why things often seem to happen on a flat plain in space. As I understand it, which isn't very well, the planets orbit the sun on pretty much a flat plane. I'm wondering why this is, and why shouldn't there being planets going over and under the sun rather than obediently around it. (I think Pluto may make some vein attempt at this). I suspect the reason is the same for the rings of Saturn (why not a sphere) or Galaxies apparently also being quite flat. I have a number of theories, all crap. Anyone cast some light on this?

              Regards, Rob Philpott.

              R Offline
              R Offline
              rnbergren
              wrote on last edited by
              #46

              Actually you are correct. Though this video is not 100% correct. It does help you understand how the planets are pulled thru the galaxy Video [^]

              To err is human to really mess up you need a computer

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              • R Rob Philpott

                My last few days have been blighted with doubts about why things often seem to happen on a flat plain in space. As I understand it, which isn't very well, the planets orbit the sun on pretty much a flat plane. I'm wondering why this is, and why shouldn't there being planets going over and under the sun rather than obediently around it. (I think Pluto may make some vein attempt at this). I suspect the reason is the same for the rings of Saturn (why not a sphere) or Galaxies apparently also being quite flat. I have a number of theories, all crap. Anyone cast some light on this?

                Regards, Rob Philpott.

                S Offline
                S Offline
                StatementTerminator
                wrote on last edited by
                #47

                Actually planets can/do orbit in different planes around their stars, but I suspect that they tend to follow the same plane due to how they formed. Take a ball of gas and dust and spin it around along an axis. It should eventually flatten into a plane perpendicular to the axis, or at least that's what my intuition says. So if I'm right, the planets of the Solar System follow basically the same plane because they formed from the same raw material, a spinning disk orbiting Sol along a certain plane. Exceptions like Pluto may be a result of collisions or other catastrophic events knocking things out of their original orbits.

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                • R Rob Philpott

                  My last few days have been blighted with doubts about why things often seem to happen on a flat plain in space. As I understand it, which isn't very well, the planets orbit the sun on pretty much a flat plane. I'm wondering why this is, and why shouldn't there being planets going over and under the sun rather than obediently around it. (I think Pluto may make some vein attempt at this). I suspect the reason is the same for the rings of Saturn (why not a sphere) or Galaxies apparently also being quite flat. I have a number of theories, all crap. Anyone cast some light on this?

                  Regards, Rob Philpott.

                  B Offline
                  B Offline
                  BotReject
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #48

                  Stars form when cold clouds of gas condense under their own gravitational attraction. However, any angular momentum the cloud has, due to its slow rotation, will cause the rotation to speed up as the cloud contracts, just like an ice-skater pulling in their arms, due to conservation of angular momentum. There may come a point when the material is spinning too fast to accrete on the central star and it may spin away. However, friction can cause some material to gain angular momentum and fly away whilst most of the material loses angular momentum and falls inwards. However, this only works if the material approaches the star more-or-less at an equatorial angle. Material trying to come in from the poles will be unable to lose sufficient angular momentum and is spun away. As the star forms, you have an equatorial accretion disc of in-falling matter accompanied by polar jets of outgoing matter. Any material left-over in the equatorial disc after accretion stops will be able to form planets.

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