The ecliptic planes of the Milky Way and the solar system

AI Thread Summary
The Milky Way's ecliptic plane closely aligns with the Sun's ecliptic, raising questions about the characteristics of other solar systems in the galaxy. While our solar system's planets generally have equatorial planes that are not highly inclined, it is suggested that this may not reflect a broader galactic trend. The consensus from a conference indicates that variations in angular momentum within molecular clouds exceed any influence from the galactic disk's angular momentum. Therefore, it is unlikely that other solar systems share similar characteristics to ours on a galactic scale. The discussion highlights the complexity of planetary formation and alignment in relation to the Milky Way.
pixel01
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Our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy whose ecliptic plane is the same with the ecliptic of the Sun (or nearly). So do you think all other solar systems in the Milky Way also have the same characteristics?
 
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The galactic plane is nowhere near the ecliptic (the Earth's orbital plane around the Sun).

They are inclined by about 600.

Garth
 
pixel01 said:
Our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy whose ecliptic plane is the same with the ecliptic of the Sun (or nearly). So do you think all other solar systems in the Milky Way also have the same characteristics?

could be that's an interesting question though.
 
davo said:
could be that's an interesting question though.

My idea is this: in our solar system, almost all planets have equatorial planes somewhat in the ecliptic plane (or less than about 30 degrees inclined except for Uranus). So there may be a similarity in the galactic scale. Hope the solar system is not a 'Uranus' in the Milkyway.
 
I once asked this question at a conference, actually. The consensus was that the usual angular momentum variations in molecular clouds are much bigger than any sort of preference you'd get from the angular momentum of the galactic disk.

So no, probably no similarity on the galactic scale.
 
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