Friday, December 20, 2013

Is the Solar System Really a Vortex?

Is the Solar System Really a Vortex?:
Is this really how the Solar System works? (Rendering by DjSadhu)
Is the Solar System Really a Vortex?
Is this really how the Solar System works? (Rendering by DjSadhu)
The short answer? No. Not in the way that a popular animated gif insinuates, at least.
If you’re even a casual space fan you may have seen a viral gif animation showing our solar system traveling through space, the motions of the planets tracing corkscrew “vortex” paths around a line-driving Sun. While it’s definitely intriguing to watch (in that mesmerizingly-repetitive gif fashion) and rendered with a talented flair for design, there’s are two fundamental problems with it. One: it’s not entirely correct, scientifically, and two: its creator’s intention is to illustrate a decidedly un-scientific point of view about the Solar System and the Universe as a whole.
For the long answer, I now offer up the stage to astrophysicist Rhys Taylor, who recently posted an in-depth article describing why the planets do yet move… just not like that.
(...)
Read the rest of Is the Solar System Really a Vortex? (2,178 words)

© Jason Major for Universe Today, 2013. |Permalink |One comment |
Post tags: , , , , , , , ,

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

No comments:

Post a Comment