What kind of orbit do the planets have

The star HL Tauri, as imaged in the optical in the upper-left , is brand new and contains a The young star in the upper left of the image above, on the outskirts of a nebular region — HL Tauri, about light years away — is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk.

The star itself is only about one million years old. Thanks to ALMA, a long-baseline array that measures light of quite long millimeter wavelengths, or more than a thousand times longer than what our eyes can see, returned the following image. The gaps in the While we'd observed young planets before, we've never seen this particular stage. From the early ones to the intermediate ones to the later stages of more-complete solar systems, they're all spectacular, and all consistent with the same story.

Direct imaging of four planets orbiting the star HR light years away from Earth, a feat So why are all the planets in the same plane? It's a case where observations and simulations, based on theoretical calculations, agree remarkably with one another.

It's a remarkable story, and one that — thanks to not only simulations but now observations of the Universe itself — illustrates in incredible detail how rich and fascinating it is that all the planets orbit in the same plane no matter where in the Universe you go!

This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here. More From Forbes. Jul 23, , am EDT. Jul 15, , am EDT. Jul 8, , am EDT. Jul 1, , am EDT. Jul 20, , am EDT. Jul 19, , am EDT.

Jul 18, , am EDT. Jul 17, , am EDT. The key difference between a planet and a dwarf planet is the kinds of objects that share its orbit around the Sun. Pluto, for example, has not cleared its orbit of similar objects while Earth or Jupiter have no similarly-sized worlds on the same path around the Sun.

Like planets, dwarf planets are generally round Haumea looks like an overinflated football and orbit the Sun. There are likely thousands of dwarf planets waiting to be discovered beyond Neptune.

Except for Ceres, which lies in the main asteroid belt , these small worlds are located in the Kuiper Belt. This simulated view of our solar system at the top of this page and below runs on real data. The position of the planets, moons, and spacecraft are shown where they are right now. This digital orrery a model of the solar system runs on a light, mobile-mobile friendly version of NASA's Eyes on the Solar System software. Showcasing the entire operating international fleet is too much of a data wallop at the moment but we are working on it!

Use the HD button to upload higher-resolution imagery of the planets. It may not work properly on older mobile devices. Have fun, and keep exploring. Planets of our Solar System. Full Moon Guide: October - November Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. George Spagna, chair of the physics department at Randolph-Macon College, explains.

Get smart. Sign Up. Support science journalism. Knowledge awaits.