4 ms·

For anyone not in the know, the ecliptic is the plane of the Earth's and most planets' orbit.

• philjohn 5y ago
  Is there any reason for that - gravitational forces from the planets perhaps?
  • monkeybutton 5y ago
    Perhaps due to the sun's rotation?
  • penteract 5y ago
    I'd guess that it's related to the sun's rotation - the sun's equator roughly lies on the ecliptic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_rotation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_rotation
  • jointpdf 5y ago
    I believe it is the fact that the solar system was once a spinning ball of gas and dust, and the spinning motion caused the cloud to flatten out into the protoplanetary disk. Like flattening a ball of pizza dough by spinning it in the air. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoplanetary_disk https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoplanetary_disk https://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/physics/astrocourses/ast201/origin_ss.html https://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/physics/astrocourses/ast201/o...
  • triclops200 5y ago
    When the solar system formed, the gas cloud collapsed along the shortest axis first into a spinning disc and then formed the planets and sun. This naturally aligns the largest bodies in most systems along the astral axis.