Final answer:
Gravity is a universal force that both keeps planets in orbit around the Sun and pulls objects toward the Earth's center. Newton's universal law of gravitation describes how gravity is related to mass and distance between objects, affecting everything from falling apples to planetary orbits.
Step-by-step explanation:
Gravity is indeed the attractive force that is responsible for keeping planets in orbit around the Sun, as well as the force that pulls objects towards the center of the Earth. This force is universal and acts between all masses.
Newton's universal law of gravitation explains how this force is related to the masses of the objects and the distance between them. Everything with mass is pulled by gravity, which is why an apple falls to the ground and why the Moon orbits Earth. In fact, gravity extends much further; it's the same force that keeps the Sun in orbit around the center of our galaxy and that binds galaxies together in clusters.
The orbits and motions of planets, moons, satellites, and spacecraft are all governed by gravitational interactions. Kepler's laws of planetary motion describe the paths planets take around the Sun and are understood even better when viewed through the lens of Newton's gravitational law. The force of gravity also gives us weight, which can vary depending on the local strength of this gravitational force.