Why does Pluto revolve clockwise

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the peculiar rotational and orbital characteristics of Pluto compared to other celestial bodies in the solar system, particularly focusing on its clockwise rotation and significant axial tilt. Participants explore the implications of these features and their potential origins.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the assertion that Pluto revolves in a clockwise direction, suggesting a need for clarification.
  • Another participant notes that Pluto's rotation is more accurately described as being tilted nearly 90 degrees, similar to Uranus, and mentions that Venus also rotates in the opposite direction to most planets.
  • It is proposed that Pluto's unusual characteristics may result from gravitational interactions and collisions of early planetary bodies during the solar system's formation.
  • A participant suggests that Pluto may not have formed like the other planets and speculates that it could have been a moon of Neptune at some point.
  • There is a challenge regarding the certainty of claims made, with one participant expressing doubt about the validity of the information presented in a book.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on Pluto's rotation and its classification as a planet. There is no consensus on the reasons behind its unique characteristics, and multiple competing hypotheses are presented.

Contextual Notes

Some statements rely on assumptions about the formation of celestial bodies and the historical context of planetary development, which remain unresolved in the discussion.

Saleh0003
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Why the pluto have opposite revolving direction (clockwise) opposite to all other planets of our solar system?
 
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Saleh0003 said:
opposite to all other planets of our solar system
Are you certain?
 
It's more like rotating on it's side. (tilted at close to 90 degrees), as compared with most other planets - which also is the case with Uranus.
(Venus however does rotate in the opposite direction to most planets.)
Pluto also orbits well away from the plane of the solar system which the other planets are close to.

It's generally thought that these anomolies result from gravitational interactions and possibly collisions of early planetary bodies before things settled down into the pattern we have today.
There probably were additional large bodies in the earliest times of the solar system's formation, and a collision of one of these with Earth is the most widely accepted theory of how the Earth acquired a single Moon which is relatively very large compared with other planets which have multiple much smaller moons.
 
Last edited:
Pluto probably didn't form the way the planets did (note: Pluto is not a planet any more). It could have been a moon of Neptune once.
 
Bystander said:
Are you certain?
i think that i have studied it in any book
 
Saleh0003 said:
i think that i have studied it in any book

I'm afraid that the "any" doesn't make sense here, but I think you should look at this book again. What does it say about Venus? About Uranus?
 

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