Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The standard gravitational parameter μ of a celestial body is the product of the gravitational constant G and the mass M of that body. For two bodies, the parameter may be expressed as G ( m 1 + m 2 ) , or as GM when one body is much larger than the other: μ = G ( M + m ) ≈ G M . {\displaystyle \mu =G(M+m)\approx GM.}
The free-fall time is the characteristic time that would take a body to collapse under its own gravitational attraction, if no other forces existed to oppose the collapse.. As such, it plays a fundamental role in setting the timescale for a wide variety of astrophysical processes—from star formation to helioseismology to supernovae—in which gravity plays a dominant ro
A common misconception occurs between centre of mass and centre of gravity.They are defined in similar ways but are not exactly the same quantity. Centre of mass is the mathematical description of placing all the mass in the region considered to one position, centre of gravity is a real physical quantity, the point of a body where the gravitational force acts.
The mass/luminosity relationship can also be used to determine the lifetime of stars by noting that lifetime is approximately proportional to M/L although one finds that more massive stars have shorter lifetimes than that which the M/L relationship predicts. A more sophisticated calculation factors in a star's loss of mass over time.
[4] [5] The form of the equation given here was derived by J. Robert Oppenheimer and George Volkoff in their 1939 paper, "On Massive Neutron Cores". [1] In this paper, the equation of state for a degenerate Fermi gas of neutrons was used to calculate an upper limit of ~0.7 solar masses for the gravitational mass of a neutron star. Since this ...
The Great Attractor is a region of gravitational attraction in intergalactic space and the apparent central gravitational point of the Laniakea Supercluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way galaxy, as well as about 100,000 other galaxies. The observed attraction suggests a localized concentration of mass having the order of 10 16 solar ...
[5] [3] Using the mass function and the radial velocity of the host star, the minimum mass of an exoplanet can be determined. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] : 9 [ 12 ] [ 17 ] Applying this method on Proxima Centauri , the closest star to the solar system, led to the discovery of Proxima Centauri b , a terrestrial planet with a minimum mass of 1.27 M E .
The surface gravity, g, of an astronomical object is the gravitational acceleration experienced at its surface at the equator, including the effects of rotation. The surface gravity may be thought of as the acceleration due to gravity experienced by a hypothetical test particle which is very close to the object's surface and which, in order not to disturb the system, has negligible mass.