
Solar System Has a Tail, Just Like a Comet - kschua
http://interestingengineering.com/solar-system-has-a-tail-just-like-a-comet/
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ihsw
Planets also have 'tails' in that sense as well.

Source:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Shock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Shock)

Also, here is the original NASA.gov article that the article is quoting:

[http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-s-ibex-provides-first-
view-...](http://www.nasa.gov/content/nasa-s-ibex-provides-first-view-of-the-
solar-system-s-tail/)

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qrybam
I love hearing about new findings like this. Blows my mind how much there is
to learn/discover every single time something like this comes out.

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mtgx
If we're being spun by the super blackhole in the middle of the galaxy, then
it kind of makes sense to have one.

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jemka
>If we're being spun by the super blackhole in the middle of the galaxy, then
it kind of makes sense to have one.

These 'tails' are not created by centrifugal forces, so the fact that solar
system rotates around the center of the galaxy doesn't explain the tail.

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zspade
Wouldn't it though, at least to a degree. If the solar system were moving
through absolutely empty space there would be no external gravitational forces
causing the exterior 'drag' resulting in a tail.

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leke
Reminds me of:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHsq36_NTU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jHsq36_NTU)

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wfn
While this is a nice video, it rests on a model that is not completely true to
the point that the video which stands upon it is actually misleading. I refer
you to the fine Bad Astronomy blog:

[http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/03/04/vortex_m...](http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/03/04/vortex_motion_viral_video_showing_sun_s_motion_through_galaxy_is_wrong.html)

It is, of course, an interesting general perspective nonetheless.

