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this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2026
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In space there is no up and down.
Except for enemy's gate, it's down.
Found Ender
Ok the planets move in a circle laying down. How come not a circle standing upright?
If you turn your head 90 degrees it would look like up and down.
If you’re asking why there seems to be a North and South for the solar system and the galaxy in general it’s because the giant clouds of matter that coalesced to make the stars began to spin around the center of mass due to gravity. As more mass was accumulated the spinning became more pronounced as everything “fell into line”
Due to conservation of angular momentum, not gravity.
Combination of several factors actually, but gravity is a primary one, otherwise more systems would be more "round", especially ones that formed earliest and had matter being pulled in from all around. Gravity, and the perceived centripetal forces it and inertia combine to create, pull matter in and "flatten" the disc despite the angular momentum of the smaller particles of matter that might come in from perpendicular angles.
Conservation of angular momentum does explain why it's likely that bodies that are at wider orbital angles likely formed outside of the formation of the system or suffered collisions with larger objects very late in or after the formation of the system since once the matter is flattened into a disc by gravitational and inertial forces, it's unlikely they would deviate from that angle of orbit without major external forces.
Ok I think i understand. So at 90 degrees the planets do not look like going around? But do they look like they are going over it?
Right.
It all depends on your reference point. Typically when orbits are depicted for human understanding, they’re given a top-down view. Think like Open Street Maps. It could be depicted on its side, like watching race cars around a race track, but it can result in more visual distortions than a simple top-down view.
Alternatively, if you’re referring to orbits with high inclinations relative to the orbital plane, that also happens. Pluto, for example, has an inclination of ~17°, which is one of the reasons there are theories it was not part of the solar system when the solar system formed.
Since, as was mentioned, there is no up and down, this depends on your own orientation. Turn yourself 90 degrees and the circle is "upright".