gravity: Quick Facts

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Nov. 12, 2026

News •

Scientists Measure Gravitational Pull Between The Smallest Objects Yet in Quest For Quantum Gravity • Nov. 11, 2026, 12:04 PM ET (ScienceAlert)

What Kills Schrödinger’s Cat? Scientists Just Ruled Out a 60-Year-Old Theory • Oct. 19, 2026, 5:51 AM ET (SciTechDaily)

Facts

Also Known As	gravitation • g-force

Photos and Videos

gravitational lens

Diagram showing the Moon orbiting Earth, with arrows illustrating gravitational forces between them and how gravity alters the Moon's natural path, resulting in its curved orbit around the planet.

Diagram showing how gravity decreases with distance from Earth, with a series of labeled distances extending from the planet. For each distance, values are given for gravitational acceleration and the weight of a 100-pound person at that location.

variation in Earth's gravitational field

experimental evidence for general relativity

Illustration of a space-based long-range interferometer system for detecting gravitational waves, showing three spacecraft in triangular formation exchanging laser beams, with labeled components including interferometers, solar arrays, thrusters, and the path of gravity waves, as well as Earth's position and orbital path in the background.

black hole in M87

Diagram showing how different launch speeds from Earth create different flight paths: circular, elliptical, parabolic, hyperbolic, and straight, with speed thresholds labeled for each trajectory.

Two diagrams compare how the Moon and Sun's gravitational pull affect Earth's tides. The left shows aligned Sun, Moon, and Earth causing combined pull and higher high tides, while the right shows the Moon and Sun at right angles, resulting in less pronounced tides. High and low tide areas are labeled around Earth in both diagrams.

gravity map of Earth's oceans

How gravity works on Earth and in the universe

View a demonstration to understand Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity

How are gravitational waves applied in science and in everyday life?

Newton's law of gravitation: Apollo 15 gravitation experiment

Learn about Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar's elucidation in understanding black holes

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Topics

gravity anomaly Lagrange point supergravity Gravity: From Apples to the Universe What causes tides in the ccean?weight How was gravity discovered?Schwarzschild radius free-air anomaly centre of gravity electricity Equator time geomagnetic field light Eclipse electromagnetism magnetism relativity chemical reaction

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Key People

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton

English physicist and mathematician

Galileo

Galileo

Italian natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician

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Kip Thorne

American physicist

John Archibald Wheeler

John Archibald Wheeler

American physicist

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Pierre Bouguer

French scientist

Simon Stevin

Simon Stevin

Flemish mathematician

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Albert Of Saxony

German philosopher

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Felix Andries Vening Meinesz

Dutch geophysicist

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Thomas Corwin Mendenhall

American scientist

Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.

Physics and Natural Law

Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi at work in the wireless room of his yacht Electra, c. 1920.

All About Physics Quiz

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy