Why doesn't the sun fall?

Answer 1

The sun is orbiting the center of the Milky Way.

As with any object in orbit, the only thing keeping the sun from falling inward to the galactic center is it's orbital speed.

It happens to be travelling at a sufficient speed so that the pull of gravity is just enough to keep it in orbit.

In space there is nothing to slow down the sun so it will continue in orbit indefinitely.

Answer 2

Well the Sun does fall toward the Earth (or, rather, the Earth toward the Sun).

It was one of the greatest discovery in Physics ever: Some celestial bodies. like the Earth and the Moon, remain (roughly) at the same distance from each other precisely *because* they keep falling toward each other. Read on...

The credit for this counterintuitive statement goes to Isaac Newton, who was pondering the question about the moon "hanging" in the sky as he watched an apple fall (so says the legend). He suddenly realized that the same cause could produce both effects. He called that "Universal gravitation".

Well, if the Moon was not attracted to the Earth, it would keep going in a straight line and drift away in space. On the other hand, if the Moon was falling without any initial lateral velocity it would soon impact the Earth (like an apple does as it falls from its branch).

In between those two possibilities is a range of "horizontal" speeds that the Moon can have where it will neither escape the Earth nor impact it. Instead, the Earth and the Moon keep circling each other. So do the Earth and the Sun.

Answer 3

The sun is falling through space all of the time, pulled by the gravitational effect of all the matter in the Universe.

The gravitational effect of the Sun means the Earth will be pulled alonged with it wherever it goes.

Imagine standing in a railway train spinning a ball round on a piece of string. You are the Sun travelling through space, and the ball is the Earth, trying to fly away but held back by your pull on the string.

Answer 4

What is "falling"? It is the action of an object moving from a high place to a lower place under the action of gravity, right?

So, what object nearby is big enough to have enough gravitational attraction to make the sun fall? There isn't one!

The sun is the largest object, and has the greatest gravitational attraction of any object for more than 4 light years around! So the sun won't "fall" towards anything, rather other stuff in the solar system "falls" towards the sun!

Answer 5

You ask the question as if the sun is a bright ball floating in the air.

The sun has a much larger gravitational pull than the Earth. If anything, the Earth will 'fall' towards the sun.

Answer 6

Actually, the sun does fall around (orbit) the center of the galaxy, and Earth falls around (orbits) the sun. And the Moon falls around (orbits).

Answer 7

The sun stationary relative to its solar system (and us) because it has the greatest gravitiational pull, because it has the largest mass.

Every thing on earth is stuck to earth because earths gravity pulls them towards us. (infact, each of these things has their own gravity, but its so weak that it can't overcome the earth gravity and pull anything else towards it). The earth and planets inturn are pulled towards the sun, which is why we circle around and around the sun) The sun doen't fall anywhere... it can't fall to us, because its gravitational force is much bigger than ours so we essentially fall to it. (obviously we don't go crashing into the sun... we orbit around it, which is slightly more complicated, but essentially because we are pulled towards it by its gravity). Remember that nothing will start moving unless a force acts upon it.

Answer 8

The only place that it can fall to is the centre of the galaxy and it's slowly spiralling its way there. Of course, the sun will be a long time dead before it ever gets there.

Answer 9

It constantly falls and we constantly move out of the way. It eternally falls around the focus of the ellipse of our mutual orbit.

Answer 10

Falling is Relative, It is in Constant Motion around the Galaxy Center, in it's own way....in Freefall.