Let me get this straight:
1.) If planets crossed each others' orbits, they would crash into each other.
2.) Pluto crosses the orbit of Neptune, but it's in a different plane so it doesn't ever crash into Neptune.
3.) Therefore, God did it.
Is that right? I hope I'm missing something, because as it is, this is the most stupid argument I have ever seen come from someone who isn't named Ray Comfort, Kent Hovind, or supersport.
For one, we can explain why Neptune never collides with Pluto without resorting to God. Exchangedlife even named one of those reasons -- Neptune and Pluto orbit on different planes.
For another, we know that all of the planets (excluding Pluto, which isn't technically a planet anyway) orbit on the same plane. It has to do with how planets form.
For another, if the planets collided, then you'd simply have the result of the collision orbiting the sun. I assume that you'd end up with one larger planet being orbited by debris from the collision. Kind of like how the moon was debris from when an object collided with the earth.
Lots of things collide in the solar system. Look at the craters on the moon. Look at the KT boundary. We don't see planets collide because, given how (relatively) short their orbits are, if they were going to collide, they would already have done so. If they had already done so, then we'd be looking at the remains-- a conglomerate planet.
@ Ensign Crusher:
"All the planets in the universe"?! I didn't even notice that until you pointed it out. Argh. Just when I thought this comment couldn't get any more idiotic.
