| The weight of an object is given by W=mg, the force of gravity, which comes from the law of gravity at the surface of the Earth in the inverse square law form: 
At standard sea level, the acceleration of gravity has the value g = 9.8 m/s2, but that value diminishes according to the inverse square law at greater distances from the earth. The value of g at any given height, say the height of an orbit, can be calculated from the above expression.
Please note that the above calculation gives the correct value for the acceleration of gravity only for positive values of h, i.e., for points outside the Earth. If you drilled a hole through the center of the Earth, the acceleration of gravity would decrease with the radius on the way to the center of the Earth. If the Earth were of uniform density (which it is not!), the acceleration of gravity would decrease linearly to half the surface value of g at half the radius of the Earth and approach zero as you approached the center of the Earth. Hole through center of Earth | Index Gravity concepts Orbit concepts | FAQs
The Earth's orbit around the Sun is an ellipse where the degree to which the orbit departs from a circle is measured by its eccentricity (e). The point on the orbit closest to the Sun is called the perihelion, and the point most distant from the Sun the aphelion (Fig.
What is an orbit question answer? ›
An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one. An object in an orbit is called a satellite. A satellite can be natural, like Earth or the moon. Many planets have moons that orbit them.
How many orbits does Earth have? ›
There are essentially three types of Earth orbits: high Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, and low Earth orbit. Many weather and some communications satellites tend to have a high Earth orbit, farthest away from the surface.
How perfect is Earth's orbit? ›
The Earth has a very circular but not perfectly circular orbit – it is an ellipse. That means that the distance to the Sun varies over the year with about 5 million kilometers. Not only that, but the ellipse varies a bit. Sometimes it is more circular, sometimes it is more elliptical, over a cycle of 413,000 years.
Where is Earth's orbit? ›
Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of 149.60 million km (8.317 light minutes, 92.96 million mi) in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere. One complete orbit takes 365.256 days (1 sidereal year), during which time Earth has traveled 940 million km (584 million mi).
Is it the Earth's orbit? ›
What is orbit made of? ›
An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object takes around another object or center of gravity. Orbiting objects, which are called satellites, include planets, moons, asteroids, and artificial devices. Objects orbit each other because of gravity.
Does gravity cause orbit? ›
Orbits are the result of a perfect balance between the forward motion of a body in space, such as a planet or moon, and the pull of gravity on it from another body in space, such as a large planet or star.
What is one fact about orbit? ›
1: Isaac Newton first proved that orbits existed centuries before humans could actually deliver objects into orbit. First proposed by Newton in 1687, the first law of physics states that an object in motion remains in motion unless acted upon by another force.
What is the Earth's orbit called? ›
If your question is about the Earth's orbit around the Sun, it is called Heliocentric orbit, for the Greek god of Sun, Helios. Earth also moves, along with the rest of the Solar System, around the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Earth is pulled by the gravitational forces of the Sun, Moon, and large planets in the solar system, primarily Jupiter and Saturn. Over long periods of time, the gravitational pull of other members of our solar system slowly change Earth's spin, tilt, and orbit.
How long is a full Earth orbit? ›
Earth's orbit is the path in which the Earth travels around the Sun. Earth lies at an average distance of 149.59787 million kilometers (93 million miles) from the Sun and a complete orbit occurs every 365.256 days (1 sidereal year), during which time Earth travels 940 million kilometers (584 million miles). Q.
What is a simple definition for Earth's orbit? ›
Earth's Orbit. An orbit is the path an object follows as it moves around another one. Earth moves in a circle around the sun once every 365.25 days. We call that path Earth's orbit.
Why is the Earth in orbit? ›
As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Earth is pulled by the gravitational forces of the Sun, Moon, and large planets in the solar system, primarily Jupiter and Saturn. Over long periods of time, the gravitational pull of other members of our solar system slowly change Earth's spin, tilt, and orbit.
Why does it orbit Earth? ›
Orbits are the result of a perfect balance between the forward motion of a body in space, such as a planet or moon, and the pull of gravity on it from another body in space, such as a large planet or star.
