Do the planets orbit the sun on a 2-D plane?

1 Answer
Mar 7, 2016

No, the planets do not orbit the Sun in a 2D plane.

Explanation:

Each planet orbits the sun in a slightly different plane. This is called inclination. The orbit of the Earth, the plane of the ecliptic, is defined to be the 0° plane. Hence, by definition, the inclination of the Earth's orbit is 0°.

The orbital inclination of the planets relative to the ecliptic are:
Mercury #7.01^@#;
Venus #3.39^@#;
Earth #0^@#;
Mars #1.85^@#;
Jupiter #1.31^@#;
Saturn #2.49^@#;
Uranus #0.77^@#;
Neptune #1.77^@#;