Question

Why doesn't the gravitational pull between the Sun and the planets cause the planets to fall into the Sun?

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Answer 1

Planets do not fall into the Sun due to their orbital motion which is a balance of gravity pulling them in and their momentum moving them forward. The gravitational forces among planets introduce variations in their orbits. These complex interactions require sophisticated calculations to predict celestial movements accurately.

Step-by-step explanation:

The reason why the gravitational pull between the Sun and the planets doesn't cause the planets to fall into the Sun is due to the planets’ orbital motion. Planets are constantly falling towards the Sun due to gravity, but they also have forward momentum as they move in their orbits. This combination of forward motion and the inward pull of gravity causes them to fall around the Sun, maintaining their orbits instead of colliding with it.

The mutual gravitational attraction of planets also exerts forces on one another, causing variations in their orbits. These interplanetary attractions can be significant enough to require complex calculations with large computers to predict movement accurately. Understanding these gravitational forces is essential for ensuring the accuracy of our astronomical models.

Newton's law of universal gravitation tells us that the gravitational force never reaches zero, no matter the distance. As a result, the Sun's gravitational pull affects bodies within our solar system and beyond. Moreover, the motion of any celestial body under the gravitational influence of multiple others is complex and often involves calculations of small perturbations in their orbits.

Answer 2

Like the string, the Sun's gravity pulls on the planets, but the planets have enough sideways motion to keep them in their orbits. The Sun is more than 300,000 times heavier than Earth, distance of the Earth to Sun is about 1.50 x ¹⁰¹¹ m, and the force of attraction between the Sun and Earth is about .