ASTR 1010 Astronomy

of the Solar System

Cassandra Hall
University of Georgia
Lecture 6
Gravity and
astrophysical orbits (1 of
2)
Read Chapter 4 of 21st
Century Astronomy
 Lecture 6 learning goals

At the end of this lesson, we will have achieved 5 learning goals

Learning goal 1 = Understand that gravity is an attractive force due to mass. Describe
changes to the force as objects move towards and away from each other. Understand
and describe the other fundamental forces.
Learning goal 2 = Understand and describe the law of universality - part of the
scientific process.
Learning goal 3 = Define an orbit, explain planetary orbits using gravitation and
motion.
Learning goal 4 = Understand and explain Newton’s law of gravitation. Apply the
equations we learn today to new scenarios to work out what happens.
Learning goal 5 = Understand the main types of satellite orbits - polar and
geosynchronous.
What do we know about the Laws of the Universe?

The Greeks said a bunch of stuff that was wrong

Galileo fixed some of it

We will learn today that Newton fixed the rest of it

But then Einstein broke it all again

Now it’s fine we’ve figured it all out

Except
for: - Small stuff
- Big stuff
- Hot stuff
- Cold stuff
- Turbulenc
e
- AND THE CONCEPT OF
TIME
What Keeps a Space Station in Orbit?
Gravity Is a Force

Gravity is the mutually

attractive force between
objects that have mass.
These objects do not have to
be in contact in order to feel
the pull of gravity.
Strength of gravity is
determined by mass and
distance between objects.
Fundamental forces of nature.

There are FOUR fundamental forces of nature. They are responsible for every
single interaction in the universe.

Can we name them all?

Fundamental forces of nature.

There are FOUR fundamental forces of nature. They are responsible for every
single interaction in the universe. Here we have a very brief overview….

Gravity - the attractive force between two objects that have mass.
Strong nuclear
Weak nuclear
Electromagnetic
 Fundamental forces of nature - strong nuclear
Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and
electrons.
Protons and neutrons are bound together via the
strong force in the nucleus of the atom.
Protons and neutrons are not fundamental
particles. They are made up of quarks.
The strong force also holds the quarks together Proton
to form protons and neutrons.

Neutron

Helium atom - nucleus has an overall positive

electromagnetic charge, (normally two positives
repel!) - the strong force is 137 times stronger
than electromagnetism, so it easily overcomes
EM.

Image https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Helium_atom_QM.svg
 Fundamental forces of nature - weak nuclear

The weak interaction is responsible for Weak force

radioactive decay.
It can change quarks “flavours”, which
means it can change protons into neutrons.
Without the weak force, the sun would not
burn, since deuterium forms through the
weak interaction.

Hydrogen stable isotopes: (same

number of protons, more neutrons).
They form through the weak
interaction.

Nuclear fusion makes the sun burn

Turns hydrogen into helium and
releases energy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion#/media/File:Deuterium-tritium_fusion.svg
 Fundamental forces of nature - electromagnetic
An attractive or repulsive force between
charged particles
Electricity and magnetism are different
manifestations of same thing
Atoms are held together by the
electromagnetic force - negatively charged
electrons, positively charged nucleus.
Electromagnetic force governs all chemical
reactions - molecules are built because of it.
Quite strong compared to gravity, but only on
small scales. -eg a fridge magnet is
overcoming the gravitational force exerted by
a whole planet!

Magnetic fields give rise to solar

flares
http
s://
Fundamental forces of nature - gravity.

Gravity is the attractive force between two objects

that have mass.
 Fundamental forces of nature - gravity.

Gravity is the attractive force between two objects

that have mass.

Class question: The mass of the moon is much less than the mass of
the Earth.
What happens to your weight on the moon?
Gravity, Mass, and Weight
Mass: a measure of the
Mass: a measure of the amount of
amount of material in an
material in an object.
object.
Weight: the gravitational force
Weight: the gravitational force
acting on an object attracted by a
acting on an object attracted
planet
by a planet.
If you go to the moon, your
mass will remain the same.
But your weight will change.
Weight =gravitational force.
Gravitational force = mass x
local acceleration of free-fall.
Gravity Causes Acceleration




g = acceleration
due to gravity
Gravity Causes Acceleration



a = g = 9.8 m s-2

Bowling ball Basketball

F
g

F
g

Which one hits the

ground first?
Gravity Causes Acceleration



a = g = 9.8 m s-2

Bowling ball Basketball

F
g

F
g

Trick question! They hit

the ground at the same
 Gravity Causes Acceleration



The acceleration is the same
They hit the ground at the same time

Another question: in a perfect vacuum, if I

drop a bowling ball and a feather at the
same time, what will happen?
This video was taken at the world’s largest vacuum at NASA’s space power facility.
The ball and feather are inside an almost perfect vacuum.
 Scientific process - the law of universality

The laws of physics are the same everywhere, at all times.

We just saw what happened with a

feather and a bowling ball.
A similar scenario is a hammer and
a feather.
David Scott, during the Apollo 15
mission, dropped a hammer and a
feather on the moon.
The moon is an almost perfect
vacuum.
The laws of physics are the same
no matter where you are.
 Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

Universal law of gravitation:

Gravitylawisofa gravitation:
Universal force between Gravityany
is a two
force between any two objects having
objects having mass. The force due
mass. The force due to gravity has the
to gravity
following has the following
properties:
1.
properties:
It is an attractive force acting along a
straight
1. It is line between the force
an attractive two objects.
acting
2. It isalong a straight
proportional to the line between
product of the the
masses
two ofobjects.
the objects (m1 ☓ m2).
It is inversely proportional to the square
It isdistance
proportional
r betweento thethe product of
3.

of the
2.
centers of
thethetwomasses
objects. of the objects (m1 ☓
m2).
Newton realised that:
3. It is inversely proportional to the
square of the distance r between
the centers of the two objects.
Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

Universal law of gravitation:

Gravity is a force between Newton
anyrealised
two that:
objects having mass. The force due
to gravity has the following
properties:
1. It is an attractive force acting
along a straight line between the
two objects.
What is this “something”?
2. It is proportional to the product of
It
theis masses
a measureofofthe
theobjects
intrinsic(m
strength
1☓ of gravity. We now have an
expression
m2). for the gravitational force acting on a body.

3. It is inversely proportional to the G is the gravitational constant, measured

square of the distance r between empirically.
the centers of the twomobjects.
1 × m2
Fgrav = G × G = 6.67 × 10 −11 N m 2
r 2
kg 2
Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

Universal law of gravitation:

Gravity
It is an is a force force
attractive between any two
between twomasses
objects having
Acts along mass. line
a straight Thebetween
force due
the two masses
toNogravity
matterhas the you
where following
are on Earth, Earth’s gravity pulls you towards the center.
properties:
1. It is an attractive force acting
along a straight line between the Linearly proportional to mass
two objects.
m1 × m2 Double the mass, you double the force.
2. ItFis
grav = G
proportional × to the product of Inversely proportional to square of distance
the masses of the objects r 2 (m1 ☓ If you double the distance between the
objects, then the force is 1/(22) = 1/4 of the
m2). original strength.
3. It is inversely proportional to the
square of the distance r between
the centers of the two objects.
Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

Gravitational force obeys an inverse square law

21st century astronomy (2016)

Example question:

Two astronauts have been propelled into the vacuum of space by an accident.
They are the only objects around. They both have mass of 75 kg, and are
3.85 m apart. What is the gravitational force between them?

m1 × m2 G = Gravitational constant
Fgrav = G × G = 6.67 × 10−11
N m2
r2 kg2
Example question:

Two astronauts have been propelled into the vacuum of space by an accident.
They are the only objects around. They both have mass of 75 kg, and are 3.85
m apart. What is the gravitational force between them?

m1 × m2 G = Gravitational constant
Fgrav = G × G = 6.67 × 10−11
N m2
r2 kg2
75 × 75
Fgrav = 6.67 × 10−11 ×
3.852
−8
Fgrav = 2.53 × 10 Newtons

Units of force are Newtons. 1N = 1

kg m s-2
 Gravitational acceleration of Earth

m1 × m2
Fgrav = G × The gravitational force between
two objects (Newton’s universal
r2 law of gravity)

FHuman weight = mHumangEarth This is also the gravitational force

between two objects, a human and
Earth. (Newton’s second law)

GMEarthmHuman
= mHumangEarth
r 2

The acceleration, due to gravity, that

we feel on Earth is dependent on both
GMEarth −2 the mass of Earth, and the height from
gearth = = 9.8 m s the centre of mass of the Earth.
R2
 Gravitational acceleration on other
objects
Jupiter is about 1000 times more massive than Earth.
Its radius is about 10 times larger.
The force you would feel on Jupiter is therefore different to
the Earth.

Your mass doesn’t change, but your

weight, the force you feel, does.

GMplanet
gplanet = FHuman weight = mHumangplanet
R2
 Gravitational acceleration on other
objects

Example question. The mass of Jupiter is  . The radius of

Jupiter is . How many times larger is your weight on the
surface of Jupiter, compared to the Earth? (Apply what you
have learned)

GMplanet gearth = 9.8 m s−2

gplanet =
R2
 Gravitational acceleration on other
objects

Example question. The mass of Jupiter is  . The radius of

Jupiter is . How many times larger is your weight on the
surface of Jupiter, compared to the Earth? (Apply what you
have learned)

GMplanet
gplanet = gearth = 9.8 m s−2
R2

6.67 × 10−11 × 1.898 × 1027 −2

gplanet = = 24.8 m s
(7.15 × 107)2

gplanet 24.8
= = 2.5
gEarth 9.8 times larger on Jupiter than on Earth.
 Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

Gravity is the key to the universe

Gravity holds planets together.

Stars form from huge clouds of simple molecules
in space that collapse under gravity.
Gravity keeps our atmosphere from leaving Earth.
Gravity holds Earth in orbit around the Sun.
Gravity holds the moon in orbit around the Earth.

Scientific principle = The laws of the Universe are the same everywhere at all times.
Orbits

Newton couldn’t “measure” gravity. Why?

Imagine taking two tennis balls now, and trying to
measure the gravitational attraction between them.
There’s no reasonable way to do this!
Gravity is quite a weak force - for example, a small
fridge magnet is using the electromagnetic force to
overcome the gravitational strength of an entire
planet.
Newton instead used his law to predict where the
planets should be at certain times. His law predicted
what Kepler’s laws measured.
Orbits

Think of an orbit as one body falling

around another.
Let’s do a thought experiment.
Ignore air resistance - we know air
resistance tricks us, remember the
feather?!
If you drop a canonball, it just goes
straight down towards the center of the
Earth.
If you fire it from a canon, it follows a
curved path before it lands.
Orbits

Think of an orbit as one body falling

around another.
Let’s do a thought experiment.
Ignore air resistance - we know air
resistance tricks us, remember the
feather?!
If you drop a canonball, it just goes
straight down towards the center of the
Earth.
If you fire it from a canon, it follows a
curved path before it lands.
If you fire it faster, it travels further.
 Orbits

If you fire a canonball fast enough, then

the path it takes to fall the floor falls off at
the same rate as the curvature of the Earth.
We can’t do this in the real world because
of air resistance. The ball would lose
energy and fall to the ground.

Can we make this thought

experiment a reality?!

The canonball is falling around

Earth in a circular orbit.
Orbits

Can we make this thought

experiment a reality?!

Yes! That is basically what happens for every

satellite.
Put it above the Earth’s atmosphere where
there isn’t air resistance
The definition of orbit - when one object is
freely falling around another Sputnik 1 - the first human-made object to
orbit Earth. Launched 4 Oct 1957

Interesting history - the soviet success of Sputnik 1 basically launched the space race
- it changed the perception US technological abilities relative to the rest of the
world, and caused the US government to dump huge amounts of funding into
STEM.
 Orbits
Why do astronauts float?

Sally Ride - First American woman in space.

She was also the first acknowledged LGBT+ astronaut. She died in 2012, and was survived
by her partner of 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy .
Orbits
Why do astronauts float?

The ISS is in free fall around the Earth. So is the astronaut. They are
two independent bodies sharing the same orbit.

ASTRONAUTS “FLOAT” BECAUSE THEY ARE FREELY FALLING

AROUND THE EARTH AT THE SAME RATE AS THE ISS
 Satel
There are many different kinds of
satellites
lites
Astronomical (such as Hubble Space
Telescope)
Reconnaissance satellites (Polar orbits)
Communications satellites
(Geosynchronous orbits)
 Satel
lites
Polar orbits are used for
surveillance.
They take about 100 minutes
Typical altitude is 700-800 km.

This movie shows how they work,

mapping out the entire Earth in a
day or so.

http
s://
ww
 Satel
Geo
lites
syn
chr
If we want the onoorbital period to be the
same as the rotation
us period of the
Earth, it needsorbto be further away
than a polar orbit.
its
This is because a satellite is an object
in free fall around the Earth.
35,786 km altitude is the height needed
for geostationary orbit.

2 3
P ∝a
 Lecture 6 summary

Learning goal 1 = Understand that gravity is an attractive force due to mass. Describe
changes to the force as objects move towards and away from each other. Understand
and describe the other fundamental forces.
- Gravity is a force that acts at a distance, the objects do not have to be connected.
- The strength of the gravitational force is related to mass and distance. For
massive objects have bigger forces. If they are further apart, the force is smaller.
- There are 4 fundamental forces - strong nuclear, weak nuclear, gravity and
electromagnetism.
Learning goal 2 = Understand and describe the law of universality - part of the
scientific process.
- No matter where you are in the universe, the physical laws are the same.
- ``The laws of the Universe are the same everywhere and at all times”.
 Lecture 6 summary

Learning goal 3 = Define an orbit, explain planetary orbits using gravitation and
motion.
- An orbit is one body freely falling around another.
- Gravity keeps an object in orbit
- Astronauts “float” because they are freely falling around the Earth at the same time
as the ISS.
Learning goal 4 = Understand and explain Newton’s law of gravitation. Apply the
equations we learn today to new scenarios to work out what happens.
- Gravity causes acceleration, F=ma
- Bowling ball and feather
- Gravitational force is 
Learning goal 5 = Understand the main types of satellite orbits - polar and
Lecture 6 summary
geosynchronous.
- Polar satellites are used for reconaissance (such as weather, surveillence) because they map the
world in a day.
- Communications satellites are geostationary (generally) since we want them in the same place to
relay signals.
- Polar orbits need to be low to map the earth every day, since . If you want to go around the
Earth multiple times a day, you need to be close to it.
- Geosynchronous orbits are much higher.
- If the Earth rotated slower, the height of the geosynchronous orbit needs to be higher.
END
 Derivation of geostationary orbit

NOT ON HOMEWORK OR ASSESSED

Just provided for your information

( T )
Fc = Fg 2 ME
Centripetal = gravitational force 2πr
=G r
Replace v with speed of
object moving in circle
ME ms
Fg = G 2 Gravity force
r
v2
a= Circular acceleration
GMET 2
r
r= 3 Distance from Earth’s
center
v2 4π 2
Fc = ms Centrepetal force
r (Newton’s 2nd)

v2 ME ms
ms = G 2 Then subtract the Earth’s radius.
r r

2 ME
v =G r
Equate, cancel. rearrange
 Geosynchronous orbit -
why so high?
Has to be at a certain level above the earth because of Kepler’s laws
Kepler’s laws apply to planets, but actually they apply to everything in the universe, including
moons and artificial satellites.

2 3
P ∝a
Kepler’s constant for
object orbiting Earth

Polar orbit at 700 km, orbits in 100 minutes.

Radius of Earth is 6371 km
If P = 100 minutes at 700 km, we can see that to
make P = 24 h 56 m, a needs to be much larger.
2 3
P = KEa

a = distance from center of the

object, must include planet
radius.
(Kepler’s constant for Earth =