Why it’s impossible to go above and below the Solar System
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Every map or diagram of the solar system shows the planets orbiting neatly around the Sun. But have you ever noticed that nobody has ever taken a real picture looking directly down from above?
It turns out, soaring over the Sun’s North or South Pole is one of the most brutally difficult challenges in spaceflight. It’s not about the extreme heat or the vast distances, it comes down to the stubborn physics of Delta-V and the fact that our solar system is almost completely flat.
In this episode of What If, we explore why brute-forcing a 90-degree turn in space is impossible, how spacecraft like Ulysses and Solar Orbiter used planetary gravity assists to break out of the ecliptic plane, and what the universe would actually look like if you traveled far above the Sun into interstellar space.
00:00 The Illusion of the Solar System
00:55 Heat vs. Flatness: The True Obstacle
02:46 The Ecliptic Plane Explained
05:34 Why Study the Sun’s Poles? (Solar Storms & Flares)
06:48 The 11-Year Solar Polarity Flip
07:38 The Delta-V Problem: Why Spacecraft Inherit Earth’s Speed
09:26 The Physics of Making a 90-Degree Turn in Space
11:31 Using Jupiter for Gravity Assists: The Ulysses Mission
14:09 Solar Orbiter & The First View of the Poles
16:31 What Would You See from 90° Above the Sun?
17:49 Why Is the Solar System Flat? (Angular Momentum)
19:15 Reaching the Heliopause & The Sun’s Radiation Shield
21:11 The Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud, and True Scale
22:00 Galactic Context: The Solar System’s Angle in the Milky Way
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#sun #space #solarsystem #star #spacetravel #nasa
@whatifscienceshow
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Abacus AI’s ChatLLM gives you ChatGPT, Gemini Pro, Claude Opus, and more in one place. RouteLLM picks the best model for each prompt, plus AI image, video, and presentation tools. Only $10/month: https://chatllm.abacus.ai/wha
@Psusanoo
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Flat Earthers?
No
Flat Solar Systemer
@MrEveryWhere79
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
YOU MEAN TO SAY 14.6 BILLION YEARS AGO.
@BerryMcCaulkiner859
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
0:56 you gotta shake and bake to get out of gravity. Slingshot engaged.
@twisten5541
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Your american use american measurments so 22.5 to 32 bluewhales worth of fuel for space x rockets
@Kafj302
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
i got a strange question, but how accurate is the game "moon sweepers" or is just Ai slop? like if you had the map of the moon, could it help you?
@1stevil1
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
I’m going to be “that guy”. How can a channel that preaches Save The Planet, promote AI? It seems counterproductive to promote something that is known for destroying the environment on a channel that says we have to save it!
@ArtsyFartsy470
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
6 minutes in and still won't get the the #*()%&(@)#%$& point. I'm out forever.
@TheGlowingShlong
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Highschool taught me the solar system looks like a bullet a corkscrew moving around the galaxy.
@fernandoenriquez432
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Space is the third ocean
@DinakarRayapureddy-7
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
We are blessed to see the reality in its existence.
@FatPieceofShlt3000
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Get to the point queer
@tuffteddy1446
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
But if you had a spacecraft that could manipulate gravity….
@zer0sinder
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
🙄🤣
@BVan17
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Well before I watch the video I'm just going to go ahead and say it's because we're spinning really really really really fast.
@JamesT-01
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Lord heaven, smh. We have satellites orbiting our poles and the we had one that studied the poles.of the Sun. They flip over time as a matter of fact.
Technically our solar system is not moving on a flat plane 🙄 it is actually spiraling through our galaxy at an angle. You can go any direction you want but you will not return to the same spot once you do especially if you go out past the solar system because we are moving within the galaxy so you woukd have setup your computers to calculate how to return when you are that far away. It's not like gong to the moon and back, it's much different.
@rwandaforever6744
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
It's not impossible. Nothing is actually impossible. Some things are just unlikely or very hard to do, but not impossible. And this is not even both of those, since it has been done several times now. Also, turning 90° is really easy…the problem is, that you then fly sideways in the same direction. But that is only turning your craft, not changing the flight's direction 90°. For that you can use the swing-bys as shown or use fuel that is abundant in space, so you do not have to bring it up.
@ebunoluwataiwo9975
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Bruh, there's no up in space 😭😭😭
@JscivS
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Where exactly is "up" and "down" in the universe?
@klakatyklak
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
You can’t go up cos there is no up in space…
@spacedinvader9773
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
no gravitational assist. we can go up or down. stupid video
@KmanB2525
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
You can go below, just let gravity take you.
@bakstabbath
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Above and below are the walls of the black hole we're in.
@TimeLordz-r9n
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Isnt a big part of the reason, simaler to the gyroscope effect?
@kellyd6195
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
You missed an opportunity when you mentioned the 60 degrees to 70 degrees. 6…7. 😜
@ReikiOConnell
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
2:48 wrong. Pluto's or it is tilted off this plane by 17°.
@PrimeSuperboy
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Easy. Launch at the north or south pole so you can orbit the earth in a direction that's perpendicular to earth's orbit around the sun.
@lostnumbr
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Not impossible, just more difficult as you have to use a lot more energety to alter your course in this way
@ZacksWorld
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
I love the mind expansion from videos like this!
@nosuchthing8
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Not impossible, just difficult
@FxLxU
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
We've literally sent two missions above and below the sun…
@remielthe2nd
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Right. That was an almost perfect balance between overall functionalities of the solar system and the theoretical physics behind it. For my taste you guys could actually go for more theoretical contents, whilst remaining entertaining. Btw: Kudos for the fitting pictures, e.g. for the "wabbling" of the galaxies' disc.
@TheLingrush
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
It's not impossible, but it is extremely difficult and requires A LOT of time. We currently have a mission being worked on. It will take 15 years just to get a 3 degree increase, but we will be able to observer the north pole of the sun.
@namplt0710
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
lol this is exactly what I’ve asked Claude yesterday 😂
@andyofori463
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
So it's not a flat earth; but a flat universe 😂
@l.faraday8767
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
The earth is an oblate spheroid, it’s not round.
@goldenstatedre
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
It’s because the solar system is literally flying through the galaxy. And it’s not flying perfectly with each planet in its preferred position. It’s more like the sun flying through space like a comet, taking the orbiting planets with it in a weird kind of space train.
@stevetatler4480
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
2:54 but the way it moves around the galaxy its not flat at all.
@jjuanguevara1
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
There is no above or below due to how the solar system actually spins along with all the different orbital paths of the planets
@sol666
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
I think the discussion is pointless from the very subject matter being discussed. Anyone who is even a casual enthusiast of astronomy and knows their physics should know the sun itself is in motion through space at a speed that even a rockat hitting exit velocity couldn't keep up with. What would happen if a rocket exits the solar gravitational field straight up. With no connection left between the solar system and the rocket. The sun will move away faster then the rocket while whoever is in the rocket will be wondering where the solar system disappeared.
@leighhunt6331
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
It has been proven possible.
@Pepsolman
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Wouldn’t it be easier to explore below the solar system… or the opposite direction it’s traveling?
@TyGotDaKey
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
I always wanted to know even if there was the slightest chance, is there a small calculation that would support the theory of a planet or asteroid that could have a up and down rotation
@nguruwekikwete1635
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
Thing to explain for only 5min you take nearly half hour.
@mustafabaskan-y4f
November 9, 2026 at 6:03 am
fk your chat llm bro