Comment by puzzledobserver

I was actually surprised that if all the planets were lined up, the center of mass would be outside the surface of the Sun. I had always assumed that the Sun was so massive that the center of mass was almost fixed and certainly always within its surface. I guess I hadn't factored in the fact that the planets are so far away and the Sun so small that their masses could have such large measurable outcomes on the center of mass of the system.