How Do Planets Stay in Orbit Around the Sun?

Imagine you're on a swing. If you keep pushing yourself, you go higher and higher, but if you stop, you'll eventually come back down. Planets are like that swing: they’re moving so fast sideways that instead of falling straight into the sun, they keep going in a circle around it. This balance between speed and gravity keeps them in orbit.

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Examples

Like a ball thrown from a spaceship: it keeps going in circles instead of falling back down.
Imagine being on a swing, if you go fast enough, you won’t fall to the ground, but keep looping around.
A planet is like a dog running in a circle, the sun tugs at it, but it moves sideways so it doesn’t crash into it.

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Categories: Physics · gravity,orbit,planets,space