Key Takeaways:
- All planets within our solar system orbit the Sun in a consistent direction.
- Planetary orbits are predominantly characterized by a nearly circular trajectory.
- Orbital planes of these planets exhibit a high degree of coplanarity, typically within a few degrees, with Mercury being an acknowledged exception.
- These collective orbital properties have been understood and documented by astronomers for centuries.
The fact that all the planets in our solar system orbit in the same direction about the Sun, on nearly circular orbits, and in the same plane (to within a few degrees, with the exception of Mercury) was known to astronomers hundreds of years ago.
