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Gravitation, also known as gravitational attraction, is the mutual attraction between all masses in the universe.Gravity is the gravitational attraction at the surface of a planet or other celestial body; [6] gravity may also include, in addition to gravitation, the centrifugal force resulting from the planet's rotation (see § Earth's gravity).
Vesta and Pallas are nonetheless sometimes considered small terrestrial planets anyway by sources preferring a geophysical definition, because they do share similarities to the rocky planets of the inner solar system. [56] The fourth-largest asteroid, Hygiea (radius 216.5 ± 4 km), is icy.
where F is the gravitational force acting between two objects, m 1 and m 2 are the masses of the objects, r is the distance between the centers of their masses, and G is the gravitational constant. The first test of Newton's law of gravitation between masses in the laboratory was the Cavendish experiment conducted by the British scientist Henry ...
For two pairwise interacting point particles, the gravitational potential energy is the work that an outside agent must do in order to quasi-statically bring the masses together (which is therefore, exactly opposite the work done by the gravitational field on the masses): = = where is the displacement vector of the mass, is gravitational force acting on it and denotes scalar product.
The gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun gives rise to two high tides and two low tides every lunar day, or every 24 hours and 50 minutes. Therefore, there is a gap of 12 hours and 25 minutes between every high tide and between every low tide.
The net result is that an object at the Equator experiences a weaker gravitational pull than an object on one of the poles. In combination, the equatorial bulge and the effects of the surface centrifugal force due to rotation mean that sea-level gravity increases from about 9.780 m/s 2 at the Equator to about 9.832 m/s 2 at the poles, so an ...
Gravitational pull toward the center of a star creates massive amounts of heat and pressure, which cause nuclear fusion. Through this process of merging nuclear mass, heavier elements are formed. Lithium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen are examples of elements that form in stellar fusion.
As the Sun dies, its gravitational pull on orbiting bodies, such as planets, comets, and asteroids, will weaken due to its mass loss. All remaining planets' orbits will expand; if Venus, Earth, and Mars still exist, their orbits will lie roughly at 1.4 AU (210 million km ; 130 million mi ), 1.9 AU (280 million km ; 180 million mi ), and 2.8 AU ...