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Moons orbit planets, though they could sometimes be thought of as small planets. Objects are kept in orbit by the force of gravity. If something crashes into a planet and pieces of rock fly everywhere, they will be pulled together by the gravity of the planet and will start to orbit it. If an asteroid or large rock in space gets too near a planet, the planet's gravity will sometimes 'capture' it and keep the asteroid in orbit. ______________ Our moon orbits the earth in an elliptical orbit (almost all orbits in the solar system are elliptical). The interesting thing that may provide a satisfying answer to your interesting question is that objects really orbit each other; it is not a matter of one of the objects doing the orbiting all by itself. If you and a friend hold the ends of a rope and then begin to move in circles, you will find that you each will move in a circle, not just one of you. The one with the more mass will move in a smaller circle, but if you are identical, your movements will be the same. The earth and the moon each have mass, so each pulls on the other. Earth and moon orbit around the center of gravity of the earth/moon system. This center of gravity happens to be within the body of the earth, but it is not at earth's center. Two objects of the same mass will swirl around each other with their center of gravity half way between them. There are even systems of double stars that are in orbit around each other in this way.
What else can I help you with?
Why are moons always smaller then the planets they orbit?
Moons are smaller than the planets they orbit because they form from material left over from the planet's formation process. Due to gravity, this material coalesces to form the moon, which is smaller due to the limited amount of material available for its formation compared to the planet.
Do all the planets have smaller planets orbiting them?
No. Planets orbit suns, while moons orbit planets. Planets do not orbit planets.
How planets and moon are alike and different?
Planets and moons are both celestial bodies that orbit around a larger body, such as a star like the Sun. However, planets are typically larger in size, have more mass, and are able to support their own atmosphere, while moons are smaller and often lack an atmosphere of their own. Moons generally orbit around planets, while planets orbit around stars.
How are the inner and outer planets alike?
The inner and outer planets are alike in that they are all part of our solar system and orbit around the Sun. They also have varying sizes and compositions, with the inner planets being smaller and rocky while the outer planets are larger and gaseous. Additionally, they all have moons, but the outer planets tend to have more and larger moons compared to the inner planets.
What is the difference between Planets and Dwarf Planets?
As you might guess, it's partly an issue of size, with dwarf planets being smaller. But just how big does a planet need to be to become a full-fledged planet instead of a dwarf? You might think the minimum size requirement is arbitrary, but the size cutoff is actually based on other properties of the object and its history in the Solar System. Both planets and dwarf planets orbit the Sun, not other planets (in which case we call them moons). Both must be large enough that their own gravity pulls them into the shapes of spheres; this rules out numerous smaller bodies like most asteroids, many of which have irregular shapes. Planets clear smaller objects out of their orbits by sucking the small bodies into themselves or flinging them out of orbit. Dwarf planets, with their weaker gravities, are unable to clear out their orbits.
What the asteroids are larger or smaller than planets?
Planets are generally larger than asteroids. Asteroids are small rocky bodies that orbit the Sun, while planets are larger celestial objects that have cleared their orbit of other debris. Some asteroids can be quite large, but they are still dwarfed by the size of planets.
Why are moons always smaller then the planets they orbit?
Moons are smaller than the planets they orbit because they form from material left over from the planet's formation process. Due to gravity, this material coalesces to form the moon, which is smaller due to the limited amount of material available for its formation compared to the planet.
What are rocky metalic objects that orbit the sun?
Planets or dwarf planets, depending on their size. (The larger ones would be planets, smaller would be dwarf planets.)
Do all the planets have smaller planets orbiting them?
No. Planets orbit suns, while moons orbit planets. Planets do not orbit planets.
Is earth larger or smaller than all the other planets?
Of the seven other planets that orbit the sun, three are smaller than Earth and four are larger.
What do tiny planets orbit?
Like larger planets, dwarf planets also orbit the sun.
What is smaller a planet or a moon?
Size is not the differentiation of whether something is a planet or moon. The difference is what ir orbits. A planet orbits a star, and only a star. A moon orbits a planet. A moon is always smaller than the planet it belongs to, but some large moons are bigger than small planets. Ganymede and Titan are both larger than the planet Mercury, but are still much smaller than than planets they orbit, Jupiter and Saturn.
What smaller objects orbit a planets?
Moons.
Could a star orbit a planet larger then itself?
well for starters, stars don't orbit planets. Planets orbit stars, but some stars don't have planets that orbit them.
What has a larger orbit comets or planets?
Comets.
Are the moons in the solar system larger than the planets?
No, moons in the solar system are typically smaller than planets. Moons are natural satellites that orbit around planets, while planets are larger celestial bodies that do not orbit anything except their host star.
Why are moons and planets different?
Planets are bodies that orbit a central star (in our case, the Sun), and moons are smaller bodies that orbit planets.
