If the Sun’s gravity instantly vanished, what would happen to a planet in orbit?
Answer
It would continue moving in a straight line tangent to its former path
If gravity vanished, the planet would no longer be redirected inward and would follow its inertia, traveling in a straight line tangent to the curve it was previously following.
#Videos
How Does Gravity Affect Earth's Orbit? - Legacy Lesson - YouTube
Related Questions
What two factors are in perpetual contest to maintain a planet's orbit?If the Sun’s gravity instantly vanished, what would happen to a planet in orbit?According to Kepler’s Law of Ellipses, where is the central star located?What does Kepler's Law of Equal Areas imply about a planet’s speed near the Sun?Which foundational physical relationship did Newton establish regarding the force between objects?What mathematical paths result when Newton's inverse-square law is applied to the mathematics of motion?Kepler's second law (equal areas in equal times) is a direct statement of which conservation law?If the Earth were moved twice as far from the Sun, how would the Sun's gravitational pull change?Why does the barycenter in our solar system remain incredibly close to the Sun’s center?What are the small, continuous adjustments to a planet's main orbital path caused by neighboring bodies called?