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unreal3x
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25 Sep 2009, 9:08 pm

:?: Is it possible that our sun or another star could be tilted on its axis from the galactic plane? Could there be a solar system that is tilted like Uranus?



Fuzzy
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25 Sep 2009, 10:17 pm

Many solar systems are undoubtedly tipped to various degrees from the plane of the galaxy they reside in.


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26 Sep 2009, 6:05 am

Yep, definitely.


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ruveyn
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26 Sep 2009, 7:53 am

unreal3x wrote:
:?: Is it possible that our sun or another star could be tilted on its axis from the galactic plane? Could there be a solar system that is tilted like Uranus?


Yes.

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26 Sep 2009, 1:07 pm

considering we've discovered over 150 planets orbiting various stars in the neighborhood, I wonder if they can tell the angle of orbit for individual planets. Should be something out there on the web.



showman616
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29 Sep 2009, 5:29 pm

Our own sun is titled like that!

Tilted relative to the galactic plane.

All of the respectable planets ( mercurey, out to naptune) are in
in that narrow part of the sky called the zodiac.

That is bacause all of said planets are in (within a few degrees) of the same plane as
as our own Earth in thier orbital paths around the Sun- (not necesarily their rotational axis).

and that plane is (more or less) on the same plane
as the equator of the Sun. So the sun is upright relative to its own planetary system.

However- that plane is at 70 degrees to the Galactic plane. The Galactic plane crosses the zodiac at 70 degrees-( if the galaxy and the solar system were in the same plane the Zodiac animals would all have to swim in the Milky Way-seriously).. So relative to the whole galaxy -the sun (and the whole solar sytem) are tilted at that same some 70 degrees.

The reason I said "respectable" planets is that those riff-raff objects beyond Neptune deviate from orbiting the sun at its equatorial plane.

Even Pluto deviates by several degrees- almost out of the zodiac.

That new object they discovered beyond pluto is almost at right angles to this main planetary plane.

Comets come in at all kinds of crazy angles.

If they find more stuff beyond pluto these future "planets" will probably also be found to orbit like electrons on the atomic energy symbol(at random angles) rather than like rings on a bulls eye like the respectable planets- but i digrees.

The point is that we cant assume extra solar planets orbit on the same plane as each other- even those attached to the same star- nor that their orbits are edge-on to our line of sight- nor anything else about how their paths are tilted.


I read that that IS an issue- about extra solar planets. We usually dont know at what angle their orbits are tilted toward us. So our estimates of their distance from the parent star (and thus their supposed mass and speed etc) are all wide open to intrepretation. So you have to take what you read about extra-solar planets with a pilar of salt!

In short: if aliens were observing our solar system, and assumed it was on the same plane as the Galaxy their estimates of Jupitar's distance from the sun would be royaly messed up.