If the earth is in orbit due to the sun's gravity, how come we don't go closer to the sun?

Question

If the earth is in orbit due to the sun's gravity, how come we don't go closer to the sun?

Answer 1

In fact, we are moving towards the sun, BUT we are also moving perpendicular to the sun.

Let's try to illustrate.  The sun is in the centre of the screen, and the Earth is at the bottom.  The sun's gravity is pulling the Earth up on the screen, BUT we are also moving to the right of the screen as well.

So when we move up towards the sun, we are also moving towards the right, missing the sun.

Now the Earth is on the right of the screen, moving upwards due to inertia.  The sun then pulls the Earth towards the left, but the inertia keeps the Earth moving up.  And once again, the Earth misses.  Now the Earth is at the top of the screen.

The sun is now pulling the Earth down, but the Earth's inertia is keeping moving towards the left.  And once again, the Earth moving towards the left keeps the Earth from falling into the sun.  Now the Earth is on the left of the screen.

And once again, the sun pulls the Earth to the right, and the Earth's inertia keeps it moving downwards.  Earth misses the Sun once again, and you are back were you started.

Answer 2

according to me we are on earth and as such we are also orbiting around the sun...moreover if  you have the confusion that why don't we fly and go closer to it ,,its because our mass is very very very very less  compared to earth also there is gravitational pull of earth which is much stronger than sun because  of the formula gm1m2/r2  so you can think that r for sun is really large and that  too square than earth  

Answer 3

*laughing*

Because the Earth revolves around the Sun and the centrifugal force prevents it from crashing into it!

Answer 4

(1) Centrifugal force is a fictitious force.  It's a useful model in rotating reference frames because it simplifies the math somewhat, but there isn't REALLY any force pushing outward on the planets, balancing the pull of gravity.  As a real world explanation it fails.

(2) Inertia is involved, and larger planets DO have more inertia than smaller planets, but smaller planets (or objects) are NOT more prone to falling into the Sun.

(3) Inertia is a resistance to a CHANGE in motion (not motion itself).  For example, if an object is moving, it tends to keep moving in exactly the same way unless an unbalanced force acts on it.  If an object is still, it will remain still unless an unbalanced force acts on it.  That's Newton's first law: all objects (big or small) tend to resist changes in their motion.  

(4)  Newton's second law says that you can overcome this resistance, this inertia, by applying a net force.  The magnitude of the force depends on how big the object is that you want to accelerate, and how fast you want to accelerate it.

(5) So in the absence of an outside force (like the Sun's gravity, for example), a planet would continue to move in a straight line forever and ever.

(6) Gravity provides an outside force.  Forces cause acceleration in the objects upon which they act.  A force can cause acceleration in several ways:

(6a) If a force is acting in the same direction as an object's motion, that object will speed up.

(6b) If a force is acting in the opposite direction to an object's motion, that object will slow down.

(6c) If a force is acting at a 90º angle to the direction of an object's motion, that object will change directions.  (Changing directions is a form of acceleration...it's called centripetal acceleration).

(7) So the planets' direction of motion is constantly being altered by the Sun's gravity.  Specifically, the planets' paths are being bent toward the Sun.  However, the planets' inertia keeps them moving fast enough tangentially (meaning, at a 90º angle to the line between Sun and planet) that instead of falling INTO the Sun, they are constantly falling AROUND the Sun.

(8) As long as the planets maintain their tangential velocity, there is no reason for them to ever fall into the Sun.  If something were to interfere with that velocity, then their orbits could get closer and closer to the Sun and eventually they might fall in.  On the other hand, if something gave a planet MORE tangential velocity, it would move into a higher orbit and might eventually leave the solar system.  However, in the vacuum of space, there is very little that is capable of altering a planet's velocity in that way.

(9) Low-altitude artificial satellites may actually skim the top of Earth's atmosphere.  Although the air is very, very thin at that altitude, it provides some drag against the satellites.  These satellites have to use rocket motors occasionally to replace some of the kinetic energy lost due to atmospheric friction.  But again, that's not a problem for planets orbiting the Sun, because the planets are well outside of the Sun's atmosphere.

I hope that helps.  Good luck!

Answer 5

Just how close should we get?  We are in fact "falling" around the sun in a circular path, getting slightly closer at perihelion and then "falling" outward again until we reach aphelion, at which point we begin to fall inward again.  It's an endless cycle.

Answer 6

The gravity of the Sun is roughly equal or smaller than that of its centrifugal force, thus it stays on one orbit.

Answer 7

The main reason is because of something called "inertia". Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist motion. The greater the mass, the more inertia the object has. Here's an example- which is easier to move, a marble, or a bowling ball? Obviously the marble is, but why? The marble has less mass than the bowling ball, so it has less inertia. The bowling ball on the other hand has a fair amount of inertia and because it is more massive than the marble, it is easier to move.

The same rules apply in outer space. All planets that are orbiting the sun don't crash into it, or even come close to it because of the great deal of inertia they have because they are very massive. They are so massive that their own gravity has caused them to become spherical... well, almost perfectly sperhical. So the reason why planets don't crash into the sun is because of inertia.

Objects with less inertia, on the other hand, do tend to fly towards the sun. Asteroids for example. They fly not only towards the sun, but also into planets and moons. This is because they don't have very much mass, and thus don't have very much inertia. Asteroids found in the asteroid belt don't all move towards the sun because the forces are balanced in their position. But every once in a while, a rogue asteroid will find itself on a collision path into the sun. It doesn't have enough mass to have enough inertia to stop from being pulled in by the sun's gravity. Asteroids often crash into planets, too. Mostly Jupiter. Asteroids also crash into moons of planets.

Answer 8

It's a Mass thing in Relative Magnetational pull in Vacuum space.

Think of creation this way!..Space is a Massive Vacuum Clock that came to rest at a Relative -0 Vacuum massive space.But it can create

smaller vacuum warps or rips across it of greater Vacuum.  

Answer 9

This site explains in terms youll understand Good reading