How do we know the mass of a planet originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. Answer by Geoffrey Widdison on ...

Your weight changes on other planets and moons due to different gravitational pulls. Weight is how much gravity pulls on you; mass (amount of matter) stays the same. Newton's Law of Gravitation ...

To find out how planets form astrophysicists run complicated and time consuming computer calculations. Scientists have now developed a totally novel approach to speed up this process dramatically.

The terms weight and mass are often used incorrectly. Phrases like ‘a bag of sugar weighs 1 kg’ are not scientifically correct. This means that a 1 kg mass would be attracted to Earth by a force of 10 ...

Planetary size was determined pre-spacecraft by measuring the planet's angular diameter and its distance from Earth (in AU, later converted to terrestrial units after the AU was accurately measured ...

The terms weight and mass are often used incorrectly. Phrases like ‘a bag of sugar weighs 1 kg’ are not scientifically correct. This means that a 1 kg mass would be attracted to Earth by a force of 10 ...