• Question: Does a star's mass affect its gravitational field in which planets are pulled in?

    Asked by to Dre on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Andrea Cristini

      Andrea Cristini answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Yes!

      The gravitational field of an object is determined by two things –

      Its Mass
      and
      its radius

      The formula (if you’re interested) for the gravitational acceleration of a different object on the surface of the object we are talking about is

      G*M/R^2

      where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the object and R is its radius.

      Give it a try! Look up the mass and radius of the earth and see if you can reproduce the gravitational acceleration of the earth (should be around 10). You will need the gravitational constant G=6.67*10^-11. Good luck!

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