Why Do Planets Maintain Distance Despite Gravitational Attraction?

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In summary, the planets and moons revolve around the sun and planets respectively due to a balance between gravity and the tendency to continue in a straight line. The distance between objects is determined by their individual mass and velocity, which affects their gravity pull and orbit. Kepler's laws explain the motion of planets around the sun.
  • #1
RoughRoad
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We know that the sun attracts the Earth and Earth attracts the moon...but why do those two objects still have a huge distance? As in...why does the sun attract Mars more than it attracts the Earth or less than neptune or pluto? why arent all the planets as close to the sun as irons to a magnet? hope u all are getting my point...if u have any idea about this, then do let me know...thanx...
 
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  • #2
The essential point for all your questions is that the planets revolve around the sun and the moons revolve around the planets. The gravity pull is balanced by the tendency of all objects to continue in a straight line, which would have them travel away from the central object.

Mars is further away from the sun than the Earth so the gravity of the sun is less for Mars. Your information is incorrect.
 
  • #3
All the planets can be in same orbit if they are identical. But due to huge differences in their size, mass etc this happen
 
  • #4
rajatgl16 said:
All the planets can be in same orbit if they are identical. But due to huge differences in their size, mass etc this happen
They can in theory be in the same orbit with different masses, although their mutual attractions would tend to make the system unstable.
 
  • #5
If I had to guess I would say it has to do with their velocity more than the material or mass of the object.
 

Related to Why Do Planets Maintain Distance Despite Gravitational Attraction?

1. What is the general concept of gravitational force?

The general concept of gravitational force is the attraction between two objects with mass. This force is directly proportional to the masses of the objects and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

2. How does Newton's law of universal gravitation explain the relationship between mass and gravitational force?

Newton's law of universal gravitation states that the force of gravity between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. This means that the greater the mass of the objects, the greater the force of gravity between them.

3. What is the difference between mass and weight in terms of gravitational force?

Mass is a measure of the amount of matter in an object, while weight is a measure of the force of gravity on an object. Mass does not change with location, but weight can vary depending on the strength of the gravitational force at that location.

4. How does the distance between two objects affect the gravitational force between them?

The gravitational force between two objects decreases as the distance between them increases. This is because the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the two objects.

5. Can the gravitational force between two objects ever be zero?

No, the gravitational force between two objects can never be zero. As long as the objects have mass, there will always be a gravitational force between them, no matter how small.

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