Why doesn't the earth burn?

Answer 1

Because it is heading in a straight line at 10,000 miles an hour. The Sun our star called Sol is almost one million times as large as earth. It represents a huge mass therefore gravity. Our Earth is very small. It has mass as do all objects and is attracted by the Suns' gravity. Einstein described all masses as making a well in space. We make a small well, the sun makes a very large well that makes it "downhill" from us. We are traveling towards the sun. As we slow down we get closer. Before we get there it may very well come and get us. The sun is changing and when it becomes a red star the earths orbit will be part of the sun. Another Answer: Technically, the earth is falling into the Sun as described above and would do just that if the Sun were not revolving around the center of our galaxy. It's a phenomenon called 'free falling'. For every inch that the Earth falls toward the Sun, the Sun move an inch out of Earth's way.

Answer 2

It is. In popular usage, the word "satellite" usually refers to objects in orbit around planets,

but its definition is much wider than that. The word actually means any object or entity that

exists completely within the influence of another similar object or entity. In astronomy, it's

entirely correct to call Sputnik a satellite of the earth, earth a satellite of the sun, and binary

star components satellites of each other.

Answer 3

Why should it? Interplanetary space is almost empty, so there is (almost) nothing to slow it down.

By the way, if anything (such as interplanetary gas) does slow down an object in its orbit, it will - somewhat paradoxically - move faster: as it approaches the Sun (in this case), it loses energy, but requires more speed to be in a stable orbit. (The energy loss comes from the gravitational potential energy.)