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I thought because gravity gets smaller by squared distance, large planets would not have crushing gravity on the surface because you are far away from the cente
by autokad 3y ago
I thought because gravity gets smaller by squared distance, large planets would not have crushing gravity on the surface because you are far away from the center of mass. Is that true? If so, how large would a super earth have to be to have an equivalent earth gravity on its surface?
- shkkmo 3y agoIt's because volume increases by cubed distance. For a larger planet to have the same surface gravity as ours, it would have to be less dense.
- autokad 3y agogood points. I think the less dense part is pretty 'easy' though, earth is a bit dense for its size. (probably a result of the collision that created the moon).
- shkkmo 3y agoIt is completely reasonable to have a planet that is more massive than earth with the same or lower gravity due to differences in density. However, the density variation of rocky planets is pretty small so as they get larger you will see higher surface gravities.