UNIVERSE
METEOROIDS
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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the planet would get pulled into the Sun
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the planet would fly off into space
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the planet would turn into a Mercury
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the planet would now be classified as a dwarf planet
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Detailed explanation-1: -A planet’s orbital speed changes, depending on how far it is from the Sun. The closer a planet is to the Sun, the stronger the Sun’s gravitational pull on it, and the faster the planet moves. The farther it is from the Sun, the weaker the Sun’s gravitational pull, and the slower it moves in its orbit.
Detailed explanation-2: -A simple way to calculate moving from one circular orbit to a larger one: Start by increasing the speed. The orbit becomes an ellipse. As Kirby points out, the speed decreases as the satellite moves out.
Detailed explanation-3: -In the absence of gravity, the planet would obey the law of inertia (Newton’s first law) and fly off in a straight line in the direction of the velocity at constant speed. The force of gravity serves to overcome the inertial tendency of the planet, thereby keeping it in orbit.
Detailed explanation-4: -Without any orbit, Earth would likely go crashing directly into the sun. That’s because our planet’s path around that big, bright star in the sky is what keeps Earth from being pulled in directly by the sun’s gravity.