What is the term for the narrow, flat plane where the orbits of the major planets are confined?
Answer
The ecliptic.
The orbits of the major planets, Mercury through Neptune, exhibit an astonishing geometric alignment, lying within a single, remarkably thin plane. This plane is known as the ecliptic. The nebular model accounts for this tight confinement because planetesimals formed and accreted material primarily within the flattened accretion disk that resulted from the collapsing, rotating nebula. If formation had occurred via random, high-energy collisions or gravitational captures, orbits would be expected at highly varied angles and inclinations. The observed coplanarity points to a highly organized, disk-based accretion process that minimizes disruptive gravitational interactions.
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