How does mass and weight change through your solar system?

Answer 1

To a close approximation, the mass of the solar system is concentrated in the sun,

with minor drips, drabs, flakes, and wisps ... less than 2% of the total mass ...

in orbits around the sun.

Answer 2

Varies. Each planet and moon has varying densities, the asteroid belts have differing densties, and blank space between planets actually has a density (cast off material form sun and planets.) On average the space between celestial bodies has a density approaching 0.

Answer 3

About 99.5% of all the mass in the solar system is the Sun itself. Half of the rest is Jupiter.

So if we add up all the other planets, the moons, asteroids, comets, meteoroids, Oort Cloud, Kuiper Belt and everything else that orbits the Sun, they all total about 0.25% of the mass of the solar system.

Answer 4

Mass is an intrinsic property of an object; weight is determined by the gravitational FORCE exerted by the interaction of two objects. If you go into deep space far from any planet, you will be "weightless" because the force of gravity will be low. But your MASS will be the same.

There is some extra confusion because of the way we talk about the units in the metric system. We talk about how 2.2 "pounds" is the same as 1 "kilogram". They are NOT. Pounds is a measure of WEIGHT; kilograms is a measure of MASS.

So a chunk of lead with a mass of 1 kg will weigh 2.2 pounds here on Earth. On the Moon, it would weigh about 1/6th of that, about .4 pounds, and in space it would "weigh" nothing at all. But it would still have a MASS of 1 kg.

In strictly metric units, a mass of 1 kg on Earth will weigh 9.8 Newtons. The mass is constant; the weight will change with the force of gravity.