Astronomy
The Orientation and Stability of Exoplanet Orbital Axes
Quick fact
More than 25% of well-measured exoplanets orbit significantly tilted (over 20 degrees) relative to their host star's spin axis, with some tilts exceeding 90 degrees (retrograde orbits). These extreme misalignments challenge simple expectations that planets form in a flat disk aligned with stellar spin.
Why this is interesting
We usually picture planets orbiting neatly in a star’s equatorial plane, like our own solar system. Yet astronomers have found worlds that loop around their stars almost pole-to-pole — and some even travel backwards.