Solar System

The planets, most of the satellites of the planets and the asteroids revolve around the
Sun in the same direction, in nearly circular orbits. When looking down from above the
Sun's north pole, the planets orbit in a counter-clockwise direction. The planets orbit the
Sun in or near the same plane, called the ecliptic. Pluto is a special case in that its orbit
is the most highly inclined (18 degrees) and the most highly elliptical of all the planets.
Because of this, for part of its orbit, Pluto is closer to the Sun than is Neptune. The axis
of rotation for most of the planets is nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic. The exceptions
are Uranus and Pluto, which are tipped on their sides.
The solar system has become humankind's new backyard. It is the playground of
robotic planetary spacecraft that have surveyed just about every corner of this vast
expanse in space. Nowadays, every schoolchild knows what even the farthest planets
look like. Fifty years ago, these places could only be imagined, and traveling to them
was the realm of fiction. In just this short time in the long history of the human species
we have leapt off the surface of our home planet and sent robotic extensions of our
eyes, ears, noses, arms, and legs to the far reaches of the solar system and beyond.
Nearly eighty years ago an astronomer working at the Lowell Observatory in the United
States made a discovery that would ultimately initiate a dramatic change in the way we
look at our Solar System. The young astronomer was Clyde Tombaugh, an observing
assistant working at the observatory made famous by the great astronomer Percival
Lowell. Tombaugh was continuing the search for an elusive planet – planet X – that
Lowell had believed (incorrectly) to be responsible for perturbing the orbits of Uranus
and Neptune.