Why can't stars revolve the opposite direction a galaxies core rotates?

Question

well I understand gravity to work like that little penny machine at the mall. You put your coin in and it rolls around in circles till it falls in the hole at the bottom. Think their might be something else involved here? Maybe gravity creates grooves in the fabric of space time and that acts upon objects in orbit around the star. You maybe think?

Answer 1

i think in due time we'll find that not all starts rotate in a set direction....

Answer 2

Most of the objects in the solar system that are rotating or revolving clockwise (the opposite direction) were affected by other objects at some point.  They might have been an asteroid that was captured by a planet as it was passing by and have a clockwise orbit.  Or it could be a moon that was presumed to have suffered a severe impact at some point.  In the leading theory for the formation of the solar system, everything was rotating counterclockwise at one point.

Looking towards that Galactic Center, not all of the orbits are counterclockwise (or even in the same plane).  Check out the video at http://www.mpe.mpg.de/ir/GC/index.php -- it shows full 3d trajectories of some stars which are very close to the "presumed" supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

There are no stars I know of that have clockwise orbits further from the Galactic Center.  This picture should give you an idea of the extreme density of the center of the Milky Way http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/9... (sorry it doesn't have the scale)  In the center of our galaxy a collision or other gravitational influence is MUCH more likely to occur.  The nearest star is about 4 light years away from the sun, so the chance of a collision is essentially zero.

This is a guess based on previous experience

Answer 3

Having done zero research on this, and just trying to speculate with logic (which is occasionally dangerous for me to do), I think it could have something to do with the way galaxies form.  As the matter coalesces into stars, planets, clusters, and the rest, the gravitational dance of these objects begins.  As they continue to interact, the objects establish a swirling motion and, much like a whirlpool, potentially gain a little momentum.  

We know from Newton, that only an outside force can interfere with an objects motion.  And, since the gravity of the already existing and moving stars are primarilly the only forces involved with the revolution of the stars in the galaxy, there is nothing to "force" them against the grain.

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In response to your additional details...  interesting!  Are you suggesting that (some of)the effects of gravity remain in a section of space-time even after the body of mass that occupied it has long since left? Like a footprint in the mud?

Answer 4

Gravitational pull for the black holes in the center of galaxies keep the little hydrogen balls rolling the way they are spinning.(Think giant space time toilets) and Dark matter hold it all together (Kinda like whippin a jump rope around in a circle) So little dude in the middle of the space time toilet is whippin a jump rope around in a circle with a you know what on the end. No matter what way he was to spin the rope, the pull of the flush will make sure that both him(the black hole) and the star (the you know what) are both going the same direction.

Note that we are not being sucked into the black hole however thanks to dark energy. But still the gravity keeps the direction pulling like the toilet flush.

Answer 5

Think of the glaxy core as if it were a sun,  and all the stars were planets.   If the sun is rotating counter clockwise,  it's obviously putting gravitational force and dragging things (in orbit) in that same way.   When the galaxy core rotates,  the stars nearby it are orbiting it,   and it wouldn't make sense for them to orbit in the opposite way,   because all the force is being sent in the counter clockwise.

Example (real life):

If you're spinning around,   holding a rope with a rock tied at the other end and your hands straight forward,  allowing it to swing with you..  Would it make sense if the rope and the rock spun.. the other way as you were spinning in one way?

I'm trying to be specific.