Is it known if all bodies there orbit in the same direction as the planets ?

Is too much of a coincidence everything in the solar system orbits in the same direction, or is there a reason ?

If an old planet existed in the asteroid belt and collided with a counterdirection 'visiting/errant' body; would that create an asteroid belt ?

Edited July 24, 201312 yr by Externet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_belt_asteroid

some asteroids have quite inclined orbits, but very few have more than 35°:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Main_belt_i_vs_a.png

 

Everything in the same direction: not quite.

- The Oort cloud is supposedly isotropic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud

- Distant moons of Jupiter and Saturn have very inclined orbits and many are retrograde.

- Some planets have a very tilted axis: Uranus 98° http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus , others 30°

 

The general trend is heavy and has been noticed. If for instance all planets condensed from an accretion disk around the Sun, they would naturally orbit all in the same plane and direction.

 

Collisions are supposed to explain much of the Solar system. Asteroid orbits inclined 20° or 30° suffice for good bangs: 30° makes already 9200m/s. Comets falling from the Oort cloud have any direction, including reverse; but since Jupiter organizes the main asteroid belt very much, an initial cause would be hard to tell from the present orbits.

So it is safe to say that all objects in the asteroid belt orbit the sun the same direction as all the planets. An asteroid in retrograde orbit would not last long. It would get smashed to bits and the bits would accrete to bigger asteroids going the prevailing direction.

Edited July 25, 201312 yr by Airbrush