Why is Our Solar System Flat?

Have you ever wondered why our solar system is flat. Except of course for comets and a few asteroids, all of our major planets orbit on the same plane, within a few degrees. I have often wondered about this and have searched for possible causes with no results until the first of this year (2008).

Besides our dog driving us crazy all day and all of a sudden being afraid to go outdoors, something else strange happen. I had been watching images from the SOHO satellite for comets, when the images stopped around 9:32 AM UT (Universal Time), on the 5th of January. The last c2 camera image was at 9:32 and the last c3 camera image was at 8:42 AM. I assumed that is was a problem with the web site and continued to check back during the next two days.

I also looked at some of the other satellite data and noticed something strange, I do not understand the data that is being shown but I can see that something did change on the morning of January 5th. The Proton Monitor (PM) is one of the scientific sensors on the SOHO spacecraft and on that morning it registered a sudden increase in the energy coming from the sun.

Everything returned to normal after about three days and all of the SOHO images were there, so it must have just been a glitch with the web site.

The Proton Monitor (PM) is a sub-sensor of the MTOF instrument, which is one of the 3 time- of-flight instruments comprising the CELIAS experiment on the SOHO spacecraft. MTOF determines high resolution mass spectra of heavy solar wind ions and uses a very wide bandwidth energy-per-charge analyzer to maximize counting statistics.

What looks like occurred was an interplanetary shock. The most recent shocks occurred on December 17th, October 25th, and September 27th 2007. These are most likely due to solar flares.

In 2004 NASA reported the largest shock ever recorded:

Earth's Safe Zone Became Hot Zone During Legendary Solar Storms 12.15.04. The beauty of science is that nothing is for certain. There are times when scientists think they have something figured out and then nature throws them for a loop. Just such an event happened last fall when the Sun erupted in some massive, record-shattering explosions that hurled billion of tons of electrified gas toward Earth.

All of this technical information got me looking at information from other satellites and one report that caught my attention from the Ulysses Solar Spacecraft. Ulysses was placed in a polar orbit around the Sun, perpendicular to the orbit of the planets.

The following has been taken from:

ULYSSES STATUS REPORTS

by R.G. Marsden,

Ulysses Project Scientist, ESA

Science Highlights

Interstellar dust, which enters the heliosphere with the same velocity as neutral interstellar gas, was detected first by Ulysses. The incoming flux is expected to remain constant but, once inside the heliosphere, the dust particles are subject to forces exerted by the sun's gravitational field, solar radiation pressure and, since the dust is electrically charged, the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF). Gravity and radiation pressure affect the more massive grains, but the motion of low-mass interstellar dust is dominated by the magnetic force.

Theory indicates that changes in the HMF causes a solar cycle variation in the dust distribution. The dust is deflected toward higher latitudes (defocused) when the polar cap field is outward in the north hemisphere and the dust is deflected equator-ward (focused), when the north polarity is inward.

What all this lead me to conclude was that over time as interstellar dust collected around the Sun, the larger more massive grains with metal content gathered in orbits around the Sun's equator. Less dense material that formed comets remained in random orbits.

Now I am wondering why all of the orbits are in the same direction?

If you look at the moon and all the craters, or at the shooting stars at night, you began to realize that there is a material flying around in space. The more I learn the more interesting it becomes, I even hope someday to purchase a telescope!

Factors to Consider When Buying A Telescope

When you first become interested in buying a telescope, it can be somewhat of a daunting task. What kind of telescope do you really need? There are so many different kinds to choose from and a very large price range too. What do you want your new telescope to do, and do you really need all of the bells and whistles available? You don't want to pay good money for a telescope that won't give you a satisfactory experience, but neither do you want to pay for features that are just not necessary for what you need.

Here are a number of tips to keep in mind when you are thinking of buying a telescope.

Type of Objective - There are basically 2 kinds of telescope objectives available for home use. These are:

1. Refractor telescopes - these telescopes use a series of lenses to focus light onto the eyepiece. These telescopes are very rugged because they are a closed system and there are no mirrors to adjust so there is virtually no maintenance involved. These models produce some of the sharpest images available, but can be much more expensive to get a really good one.

2. Reflector telescopes - these telescopes use a series of mirrors to focus light onto the eyepiece. These telescopes are usually much more economical, but they are an open tube, so dirt and dust can collect on the mirrors. The mirrors will also need to be periodically aligned as well. However, you can get the most for your money with one of these if you don't mind the maintenance.

Aperture Diameter - The telescope's main function is to gather light, therefore the diameter, or at least the proportion of the objective's aperture is very important. The telescope's light-gathering strength is proportional to the objective's surface area, so bigger is not necessarily better unless the proportions are correct. A good rule of thumb for aperture width is about 3 inches (8 cm) for Refractors, and 4 - 8 inches (10 - 20 cm) for Reflectors.

Eyepiece - One of the most important things to check out when buying a telescope is the eyepiece. If you can afford it, get an eyepiece that is adjustable so that you can adjust the magnification - or at least get a telescope that has interchangeable eyepieces. A good steady focuser is also very important as you don't want the telescope to shake while focusing.

Magnification - Most beginners think that the most important feature in a new telescope would be high magnification, but that is not always the case. If the telescope's light gathering ability is insufficient, all the magnification in the world won't help. A magnification of 40X to 60X per inch of aperture is usually sufficient. The ability of the scope to enlarge an image and keep it sharp mainly depends on the lenses used and the focal length of the telescope.

Mounting - Last but not least, consider how your telescope will be mounted. Will it be mounted rigidly or will it be a portable mount? Make sure whatever mount you get has a low center of gravity so it won't tip over, and that it is the right size for the telescope you get. Mounting it at the right height as to avoid back fatigue is also very important.

Buying a telescope can be very exciting and challenging. Really the most important thing to do is to do your due diligence and research before you buy. Looking at the stars and seeing our planets up close and personal is one of the most incredible experiences a person will have, so you want to make sure you do it right. These tips should point you in the right direction when you consider buying a telescope.