Hobbies And Interests
Mass and Distance
The solar system consists of masses that orbit a star called the sun. The strength of the pull depends entirely on the mass of the objects and the distance between them. The more mass the planet or star has, the stronger the gravity. The greater the distance between the object, the weaker the gravity will be. The amount a person weighs on Earth will be much less than what they would weigh on Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet.
Earth and Sun
Planets orbit the sun at a consistent distance because the space fabric around a mass becomes warped by the mass. All objects create a gravity pit. At the same time, the Earth is pulling on the sun, creating its own gravity pit. Like a dog pulling on a rope in your hand, the rope stops moving when the force from your dog and the force from your arm are the same. With planets, the forces even out with distance and that is why the Earth maintains its distance from the sun. The same theory governs the relationship between the moon and Earth.
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton claimed in 1665, after seeing an apple fall from a tree, that the same laws governing the apple falling governed the orbit of the moon. Unifying outer space and Earth under the same force was unheard of in Newton's time. Newton was able to calculate the force of gravity with extreme accuracy, but he didn't know how it worked. In the early 1900s, Albert Einstein discovered in his theory of relativity a space fabric, which extends throughout the solar system. The sun creates a crevasse in this fabric and the planets follow along the fabric's bend.
Solar System
The solar system consists of eight planets and one dwarf planet. Thousands of smaller objects called asteroids and comets are also moving through the solar system. All of these terrestrial objects are subject to gravity. Many asteroids orbit the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Comets are usually located beyond Pluto, the dwarf planet, which is farther away from the sun than any planet. The four planets closest to the sun, including Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, respectively, are called terrestrial planets, while Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are gas giants.