How does the law of universal gravitation describe the force between two objects?

Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation states that every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that acts at a distance without requiring physical contact.12

This attractive force is described by the following relationship: the magnitude of the force ($F$) is directly proportional to the product of the two masses ($m_1$ and $m_2$) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance ($R$) between them. Mathematically, this is expressed as:1

$$F=G\frac{m_1{m}_2}{R^2}$$

In this equation, $G$ represents the gravitational constant, a universal value that ensures the force is calculated consistently across different systems of units. The force acts along the line joining the two bodies, meaning that if the distance between two objects is doubled, the gravitational force between them is reduced to one-fourth of its original strength. Newton used this principle to explain the motion of planets and moons, demonstrating that the same gravitational interaction governs both celestial bodies and objects falling on Earth.12