Asked by brent

Which force keeps the planets from floating off into space?

Earth’s gravity
the Sun’s gravity
the moon’s gravity
Milky Way’s gravity

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The Sun’s gravity.

The Sun’s gravitational pull provides the centripetal force that keeps the planets in orbit around it. (The planets’ forward motion plus the Sun’s gravity balance so they don’t fly off in a straight line.) The Moon’s gravity affects the Earth, and the Milky Way’s gravity acts on the whole solar system, but the dominant force keeping planets from drifting away from the Sun is the Sun’s gravity.