JulietLee

Period4/5
PhysicsHonors
16April2016
GravitysRoleinourSolarSystem

The formation ofourgalaxy,planetsandstarscanallbeattributedtothework ofgravity.

This attractive force exists between anyobjectsmadeofphysicalmatterwithmass.Beyondthis,
gravity is responsible for the shape and interaction of objects in space. Gravity acts as the glue
holding together our many galaxies, and withoutthepresenceofgravitywithinouruniverse,not
only would planets not exist but if they did, they would be left flying around in the darknessof
space.

Gravity is the single most fundamental force within the universe. It represents the

attraction between all objects with mass, pulling objects together like a magnet. Everything is
held on planet Earth by the force of gravity, however as humans we dont physically feel this
force due to its unparalleled strength compared to our own.1 This is hard to believe when the
force of gravity on earth isrelativelyweak,howeverona planetaryscale,gravityisanincredible
force.

The proximity and size of objects directly determines the amount they are affected by

gravity. Using our solar system as an example, there is a much stronger gravitational force
between Earth and Jupiter compared to between Earth and Pluto because of theshorterdistance
between one another. In the case of the relationship between the size of structures the its effect
on gravity, one can imagine the difference their body would experience when jumping up and
down on Earth compared to on themoon.SincetheEarthismuchlargerthanthemoon,itexerts

"Gravity:Facts."
(ScienceTrek:IdahoPublicTelevision)
.Web.17Apr.2016.

amuchstrongerpullonitthanthemoondoestotheEarth.Forthisreason,ourbodiesexperience
a stronger pull towards the ground when wejumpcomparedtotheflyingsensationonewould
1
feeliftheyjumpedonthemoon.

Beyond the numerous ways that gravity affects the structures we see in the night sky

today, it was also responsible for the creation of these structures. The early stages of the solar
system were no less than chaotic. Every structure of mass was fragmented and continuously
breaking apart and colliding with each other. There were no sound structures nor was there any
orbitalsystemwheresustainableplanetscouldthrive.
Both the Sun and the rest of the planets in our solar system were formed by a spinning
disc of dust, mainly full of hydrogen and helium. The gravitational forces within space
eventually began to bring the fragmented pieces of matter together more than they would break
apart. Over the time span of millions of years, these chunks grew to have diameters of up to
1,000 meters. Just as the fragmented pieces before them had been attracted together by gravity,
these larger chunks, known as planetesimals, continued to assemble together through the
accumulative process known as accretion. Gravity continued to cause the materials withinthese
disks to spiral inwards towards their central bodies. These structures, built by gravitational
forces,formedthecoresoftheplanetsandstarsweseenow.2

The shapes of these structures werealsodeterminedbygravity,hencethevariationwhen

observing objects in space. As the cores of the planetsandstarsweseenowbegantoform, they

also began to rotate. This was due to the nebulas in which they were drawn into and organized
by, which introducedthem toanincreasedgravitationalfieldthataidedthemangularmomentum

"PlanetsandHowTheyFormed."
PlanetsandHowTheyFormed
.Web.18Apr.2016.

and a sense of rotation. As these piecesofmatterwerepulledintothecenterofthenebulas,they

would rotate faster and faster until the increasinggravitywasintenseenoughtocausethegasses
withintoundergonuclearfusion.Thisfusionwasthemarkingpointofastarbeingborn.
Structures such as planets obtained their spherical shapes by the rotation oftheirmovementand
the centrifugal and centripetal force produced by gravity as they cooled and formed into solids.
The newly born gravitational field of a star pulled the heavier elements towards the core and
allowed the lighter elements to gather on top. The rotation of the object, based ongravitational,
centripetal and centrifugal force, allowed the rough edges to be smoothed out, and astheplanet
cooled it arrived upon its final shape. All of which depended on the particular influence that
gravityhadonaspecificstar.3

Gravity is also responsible for the interactions of objects within space, and the constant

motion we know as orbits. Many objects in space orbit around the center of their galaxies or
other larger objects in their solar system. Since heavier objects in space produce a larger
gravitational pull, smaller objects will begin to orbit around larger ones. A commonexampleof
this is the way thatEarthorbitsaround thesun,aremarkablylargerstructure thanitself.4Gravity
is the only thing keeping orbiting objects from following the Law of Inertia, breaking their
tendency to following a single straight path throughtheuniverse.Sinceaplanetsnatural course
would be tomoveawayfromthe suninasidewaysyetstraightpath,theimpactofgravityonits
course produces a circularorbit.Thisnaturalpathoftheplanetalsoexplainswhytheywillnever
falltowardsthesunandburnup.5

"WhyArePlanetsRoundUniverseToday."
UniverseToday
.15Oct.2010.Web.18Apr.
2016.
4
"

WhyDothePlanetsGoaroundtheSun?"
NASASpacePlace
.Web.18Apr.2016.
5
"

InfluenceofGravitationintheUniverse."
ByRonKurtus
.Web.18Apr.2016.
3

Without gravity,ouruniversewouldneverhavebeenabletoexistwithsuchintricaciesto

sustain life. Not only does gravitational force play an incredibly crucial role in maintaining a
functional solar system and the possibility of everyday life on our planet, but it was the single
mostimportantfactorinthecreationofspacesinhabitants.