Question

The moon travels in a nearly circular path around earth. If somehow gravitation between earth and moon disappeared, how would the moon's path differ?

Answer 1

moon must follow a movement tangential to the circle at the point where the force disappears

Step-by-step explanation:

The gravitational force is the attraction due to the mass of the bodies, if this force disappears the centripetal acceleration between the moon and the Earth would disappear and using the first Newton law, every body remains in uniform motion until an external force changes this movement

Consequently, the moon must follow a movement tangential to the circle at the point where the force disappears

Answer 2

The gravitational force is a balance between centripetal and centrifugal force that keeps the planets in their orbits when they are in motion. The gravitational force is a factor of the masses of the Earth and moon and the distance between them. If there were no gravitational force, the moon would stay out of the circular path and follow the direction as shown in the picture.