PV Gap

Leah Said:

In light of modern solar system theory, why do the orbits of the planets all lie in nearly the same plane?

We Answered:

The Sun's gravity forced them into these orbits. Also, science CAN explain everything.

William Said:

Does the sun give light to the whole solar system?

We Answered:

yes and yes... look up in the night sky... all those stars are actually suns from other solar systems

Joy Said:

How did the universe got to the size of the solar system in the first second if nothing is faster than light?

We Answered:

here's the difference.... in our Universe, INSIDE our Universe, nothing goes faster than the speed of light, that's true.... but.... in the first second, there WAS NO 'inside' our Universe, as it hadn't formed yet.... and so, none of the 'laws' of physics applied to that wildly expanding whatever-it-was..... it expanded from zero to universal in one big whoosh...there wasn't even any light around to be moving in it.... it just expanded and then sat there, dark and empty, until it all cooled enough for hydrogen to form.... once that happened, the hydrogen could clump together and become a proto-star.... once that proto-star 'lit up'... poof, there was the first light..... and it was way behind the expansion , so it would never out run the expanding Universe....here's a website with a diagram showing how that dark period was before light 'happened'...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mOGZbOPkY1M/SH…

now, way over to the right side of 'dark ages' on that illustration, is planets... it's a long time before the universe got around to being filled with galaxies and planetary systems around stars....like our solar system.... in fact , we're pretty new in the whole deal!.... and, 'the size of the solar system' that you mentioned is hardly a pin head compared to the size of the Universe!!...take this trip....

http://videosift.com/video/IBM-Powers-Of…

Sean Said:

where does the light that objects in our solar system have come from?

We Answered:

Light is energy. Energy can be changed, but not destroyed. The sun does give off most light because of Nuclear Fusion which releases chemical energy in the two atoms that from of light, heat and a new element. They're light being released from planets (eg when an explosion happens or something is on fire) most of the light from he planets which we see are reflective light from the sun.

Laurie Said:

How long would it take for light to travel across our solar system?

We Answered:

Diameter of pluto's orbit about the Sun is roughly 10.85 light hours. So, light would take 10.85 hours to cross it. I agree with the 2nd person that the Sun's gravity is significant far beyond pluto's orbit.