What holds the earth in space?

Question

If space is a vacum, and gravity is described as a result or distortion of space and time. Surely space is not like a flat blanket with the earth resting on the blanket. Surely their are celestial bodies in all directions of the earth, below above, left and right. What holds the earth in this plane? If earth is held by the gravity of the Sun, what holds the Sun? From falling etternally or floating eternally in an aimless direction?

Answer 1

The continous expansion of the universe provides direction for all mass. the earth doesn't just hang there as you suggest. It's in constant motion.

Answer 2

There is no up or down in space. Back in the 1960s you heard that all the time but now days it seems to have been forgotten. It is not correct to say below or above, because below is the direction that objects fall when let go. The Earth is held in orbit around the Sun by the gravity of the Sun. The Sun is held in orbit around the galaxy bu the gravity of the galaxy. The galaxies are all just drifting around in various directions in space, but on a large scale the whole universe is expanding. Nothing is fixed or solid like you are used to on the ground. Everything really is falling and drifting all the time. You just don't notice it because the unbelievably large distances make even 100,000 MPH seem like a snail's pace.

Answer 3

This is a very good question. I have to search my mind, because astronomy was one of my favorite subjects in school. From what I remember, the creativity of our solar system was caused by a "Big Bang." This theory still holds true today. With the sun being the largest of heavenly bodies within the solar system and the planets being smaller, the gravitational pull on every one of these bodies keeps the Earth in its present plain. It is believed that if the sun exploded to a point of non-existence, all the other planets and moons would drift through the universe until it was picked up by another 'sun' or disintegrate over time. If the sun ever became non-existent, life on Earth would be considerably shortened until it became too cold to warm the Earth artificially and all life would perish. All the solar system would eventually crystalize and travel through space endlessly until it was picked up by another sun or not. In other words, the gravity of all the solar system keeps everything where it is for now. Until there is evidence there wasn't a "Big Bang" this is all we have to go on for now.

Answer 4

The Earth is like a giant magnet with a magnetic pole near the North Pole and the opposite near the South Pole. The north pole of a magnet seeks the North Magnetic Pole. Through the ages, indications are that the poles switched directions. No one is sure why this happened.

The rotation of the Earth and the fact that the core of the Earth is made of iron are major factors in creating the magnetic field.

One thing the magnetic field does is to attract charged particles that have been emitted from the Sun. The focusing of these particles at the poles may help to prevent us from being harmed by the high energy particles.

These particles cause the air in the upper atmosphere to glow. This is called the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis).

Answer 5

A snow globe has an external force applied to it, gravity. A snow globe in orbit would not settle. The snow would simply swirl and drift with the currents in the globe. People in the northern hemisphere might expect all the dust in space to slowly settle "down" toward the south end of space, but the folks in the southern hemisphere might have another opinion. Both would be wrong. Dust that is not being pulled by a gravity field or colliding with other dust will move inertially, in whatever direction, at whatever speed it is already at.

Answer 6

You cannot "fall" in space. "Falling" is only something that you can do on an object with gravity. You "fall" due to the gravity of the earth-falling includes going down, which you cannot do in space- like the person above me, there is no up, down, north, south, east west, etc. in space.

Without the Sun's gravity, we would "drift", not fall, because you cannot fall in space. We're held in place by the Sun, which is held in by the center of our galaxy, which is held in by the other galaxies and the core of the universe.

Answer 7

Gravity from the rest of the celestial bodies in the galaxy, and the whole thing is constantly moving, but, since everything is held in place by each others gravity, their positions relative to each other, stays the same.

Answer 8

The sun's gravity and centrifugal force make the earth work like a gyroscope. As long as the earth is spinning it will remain on its plane. The universe is however expanding and the earth is constantly getting farther from the sun.

Answer 9

Its not held in place - the sun is moving in relation to the galaxy (it goes around once every 200,000,000 years) which is slowly swirling round and round and we move in relation to the sun - we go around once every year - you may have heard that.

Gravity stops us flying off in to space and 'falling' towards the sun in orbit keeps us getting any closer.

Answer 10

The gravitational attraction resulting from an estimated 400,000,000,000 suns in this galaxy, as our sun revolves around the galactic nucleus.