gravity

Latest about gravity

This is an image of the Earth at night seen from space (city lights can be seen). You can only see the Northern hemisphere, with North America on the left, and Europe on the right. In the middle of the far distance you can see the sun as a solar flare, lighting up the other side of the Earth.

Is Earth getting closer to the sun, or farther away?

By Charles Q. Choi last updated

Here's a look at whether Earth is getting closer to or farther from the sun, why that's happening and what effects it might have on our planet.

The Sun
Male astronaut floating upside down in a tucked position in a space station. He has short blond hair and is wearing a gray jumpsuit.

How can you experience weightlessness?

By Joe Phelan published

How one earth (or space) can a person experience microgravity?

Space
Artistic impression of the Double Pulsar system, where two active pulsars orbit each other in just 147 minutes.

Einstein's theory of general relativity passes one of its toughest tests yet

By Mike Wall last updated

Scientists tested seven different predictions, in one of the most ambitious and involved challenges to general relativity ever undertaken — and the theory passed with flying colors.

Physics & Mathematics
Albert Einstein's E=mc2

9 equations that changed the world

By Adam Mann last updated

Here are nine equations that altered the course of history.

Mathematics
Atoms consist of a nucleus made of protons and neutrons orbited by electrons.

Where do electrons get energy to spin around an atom's nucleus?

By Paul Sutter published

Quantum mechanics explains why the electrons can keep spinning indefinitely.

Particle Physics
Artist’s interpretation of the quadruple-star system HD 98800. the newly discovered triple star system, known as TIC 470710327, has a very similar structure except the outer pair of stars orbiting the central binary pair have merged into a single star.

'First of its kind' triple star system likely gobbled up a 4th star

By Harry Baker published

The unusual trio is much more massive and compact than similar systems.

Astronomy
An artist's impression of exoplanets orbiting a red supergiant. The bright light in the distance represents a faraway star of a similar size.

Red supergiant stars 'dance' because they have too much gas

By Harry Baker published

The light they produce wobbles around, making them hard to pin down.

Astronomy
Comet 67P_Churyumov-Gerasimenko_European Space Agency

Why are asteroids and comets such weird shapes?

By JoAnna Wendel published

Small bodies like asteroids and comets are shaped more by their geological makeup than by gravity, which molds planets and moons into spheres.

Asteroids
An artist's impression of the planets in the solar system, not to scale.

What's the maximum number of planets that could orbit the sun?

By Harry Baker published

If a super-advanced civilization had to ability to engineer the solar system from scratch, how many planets could they squeeze around the sun?

Planets
In the 2022 sci-fi movie "Moonfall," the Space Shuttle Endeavor docks at the International Space Station while the moon hurtles toward Earth.

Could the moon ever be pushed from orbit, like in 'Moonfall'?

By Mindy Weisberger published

What would it take to dislodge the moon from its orbit and send it on a collision course with Earth?

The Moon
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Archives