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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Orbits & Gravity

Gravity

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

/ˈɡrævəti/nounCore term

In astronomy & space, gravity means: The force that pulls any two objects with mass towards each other. It keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun and keeps our feet on the ground.

In Turkish: kütleçekim, yerçekimi, çekim kuvveti

How it is used

A core word in physics and astronomy. Scientists talk about the gravity of a planet, surface gravity and gravitational pull. The adjective is 'gravitational': gravitational field, gravitational waves.

Example sentences

  1. On the Moon, gravity is about one sixth of what it is on Earth.

  2. The probe used Jupiter's gravity to speed up on its way to Saturn.

Common collocations

  • surface gravity
  • the force of gravity
  • gravity assist
  • low gravity
  • gravitational pull
  • orbitThe curved path that an object such as a planet, moon or satellite follows around another object because of gravity. As a verb, it means to move along this path.
  • microgravityThe condition of near weightlessness that people and objects experience in orbit, where everything falls around Earth together and seems to float.
  • escape velocityThe minimum speed an object needs to break free from the gravity of a planet or another body without any further push. For Earth it is about 11.2 km per second.
  • Kepler's lawsThree rules published by Johannes Kepler in the early 1600s: planets move in ellipses, they move faster when closer to the Sun, and orbit size is linked to orbital period.
  • black holeA region of space where matter is packed so tightly that gravity stops anything, even light, from escaping. Many form when very massive stars collapse.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Orbits & Gravity

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