Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 8/27/2009

Question
Since the sun and its planets were formed from an accretion disk of materials, similar to the formation of the Milky Way galaxy, how is it that our solar system is tilted almost 70 degrees to the galactic plane.  Is it possible our solar system was torn froma previously contacted mini-galaxy?

Answer
Hi,
Yes!
As per the latest, we "most probably" got captured from the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy, which the milky way at this very moment is in the process of cannibalising.
[refer:- http://viewzone.com/milkyway.html and Wikipedia for the sun].

In fact though wikipedia is silent about the captured sun, it does note that the sun's orbit oscillates up and down the galactic plane a number of times in one orbit around the milky way.

This could be the remnant of the originally highly eccentric solar orbit at an angle to the mily way. But each time it passes through the plane, the gravity of the other stars retard the velocity component at right angles to the galactic plane, making it more and more alligned!

In a few billion years, the right angle component of its velocity will disappear completely.
I for one, do believe it is possible that we are NOT native to the milky way at all.

regards
Jayen