How Does a Planet Stay in Orbit?

Planets stay in orbit because of gravity. Imagine you're on a swing, the rope keeps you from flying off, just like Earth's gravity keeps us from floating away. When a planet moves around the Sun, it’s like being pulled by an invisible string. If the pull is just right, the planet stays in its path and keeps going around forever.

Take the quiz →

Examples

A ball tied to a string swings around your head because the string keeps it from flying off, just like gravity keeps Earth in orbit.
If you jump on a trampoline, you go up and come back down. The Sun is like that trampoline: planets are pulled toward it but keep moving forward instead of crashing into it.
Imagine pushing a toy car around a circular track, if you push it too hard, it will fly off the track; if too soft, it will crash into the center.

Ask a question

Discussion

Recent activity

Categories: Physics · gravity,orbit,planets