4 ms·
Surface gravity absolutely depends on the radius. Gravitational force is proportional to mass and inversely proportional to the square of distance. Radius is t
by kijin 9y ago
Surface gravity absolutely depends on the radius.
Gravitational force is proportional to mass and inversely proportional to the square of distance. Radius is the distance between the center of a planet and its surface.
If this sounds wrong, please see the Wikipedia page for Saturn and explain how a planet with 95 times the mass of Earth is listed as having a surface gravity of only 1.065 g.
(Actually, I was wrong above: the increased radius alone would reduce the surface gravity of this hypothetical planet by a factor of 4.6, not just 2, assuming Earth-like density.)