Gravity & Orbits

How It Works

Place planets around a central star and watch gravity pull them into orbit. Adjust masses to see how gravity changes with mass and distance.

Try this:

• Can you create a stable circular orbit?
• What happens when you make the planet very heavy?
• Try placing two planets — do they affect each other?

The Physics: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation: every mass attracts every other mass. The force depends on both masses and the square of the distance between them (F = GMm/r²).