Are objects in space always orbiting something?

Question

I know the planets orbit around the sun, but what about interstellar clouds, or stars? Do they have movement? Do they revolve or orbit, or just really just stay stationary?

Answer 1

All objects within a galaxy are orbiting around something. A moon might be orbiting a planet, a planet or asteroid might be orbiting a star, or failing all else, it is always orbiting around the galactic core. Now, orbits are not necessarily stable. They might last only a fraction of an orbit, or they might go around for millions of years before falling or ejecting (or something else happening to them such as a collision with another object). If ejected, they will eventually come across something else to orbit.



Galaxies are a little different. Galaxies might orbit other galaxies in the same way that stars can orbit other stars, but we don't have a grand perspective to see if there is some "center" to the universe around which all galaxies are in fact orbiting. I would doubt the existence of this "center" to the universe as all observational evidence so far says there is none (though I do acknowledge that we may be incapable of seeing the big picture). So galaxies behave like atoms in a gas. For the most part they go flying along, minding they're own business. Every now and then they'll see another galaxy and may interact with each other if they're close enough, but there is no overall organization to the movement.

Answer 2

Essentially every 'solid' object in space smaller than a galaxy is orbiting something. The Sun for instance is orbiting the center of the Milky Way. Some galaxies are also orbiting other galaxies.



Over intergalactic distances, though, the effects of dark energy start to take over and overpower gravity. Accordingly, nothing on these very large scales is really 'in orbit', since all of it will eventually be pushed away from other parts of it and become alone in the observable universe. This applies to everything larger than local galaxy clusters.

Answer 3

Not necessarily. Most of the time the object is orbiting a black hole or a star, but it is possible that it breaks out of the orbit (just like the moon is doing slowly). The cause of something orbiting is when the gravity of an object and the forward moving object balance in a an elipse shape. If the forward motion is slightly stronger, than it breaks out. But the object rarely breaks out of the galaxy.

Answer 4

Everything in space is in free-fall. Orbiting something just means that it has enough angular velocity to miss hitting it as it falls. Hitting it instead could be described as friction, which interstellar clouds encounter more than objects that have already collapsed due to it. Gravity exists everywhere, just in varying degrees, and anything in a gravitational field, whatever the degree of it, is falling through it. Since velocity is relative, by the way, nothing can be said to be "stationary", unless it's relative to something else. This is sort of a complicated subject so I'm being a little scatter-brained.

Answer 5

Technically, each and every of the planets in our image voltaic equipment are falling in direction of the sunlight. although, each and every planet has a perpendicular factor of velocity that keeps it from crashing into the sunlight. In different words, think of you're status on a mountain height it is 10,000 ft above sea point and you throw a ball incredibly, incredibly problematic (fake which you had the skill to throw the ball at a velocity of various thousand miles in step with hour). The ball might for sure fall in direction of the floor, yet because of the fact that's shifting around the earth's floor so quickly, by using the time the ball falls 10,000 ft, the ball does not make touch with the floor because of the earth's curvature. And if the ball's velocity and course have been only precise (and you left out air resistance), the ball might theoretically proceed "falling" continuously. it incredibly is asserted as a good orbit. that's a similar with planets, continually falling around the sunlight, yet by no ability hitting it. The moon falls around the earth. additionally, a element it is normally neglected - astronauts orbiting the earth at the instant are not in 0-gravity. only like the area return and forth itself, they're falling continually around the earth, giving them the experience of weightlessness and the impact of "no gravity".

Answer 6

It turns out there's no such thing as 'stationary'. Everything has movement relative to something else. That goes for planets, stars, nebulae, even entire galaxies. Everything is in motion, directed mainly by gravity (with additional small effects by electromagnetic forces).

Answer 7

Moons orbit planets. Planets orbit stars. Galaxies orbit black holes. Galaxies can orbit galaxies. Everything is always in motion.

Answer 8

Yes, they orbit around the centre of the galaxy. I think there's a black hole there or something. Galaxies don't usually orbit around anything in particular, though sometimes they orbit around each other. Or they collide. That's worth watching if you have a few million years to spare.

Answer 9

no, some objects (but VERY very few that we know of) are "rogue" and not in an orbit. They could be shooting off into intergalactic space for example