Submitted by LoreCriticizer t3_z53aqr in askscience
JensAypa t1_ixufxao wrote
Gravity depends on the mass of the planet, but also on your distance to the center of the planet. If you're on the ground, that means it depends on the planet's radius. What you say would only work if the planet was the same size as the Earth, which is generally not the case.
Everything attracts everything with gravity, so in theory you would have to calculate the gravity pull from every planet, star, moon, everything. But generally, most of these objects are too far away to really have a significant effect. If you're on the surface of a planet for example, gravity of other planets and moons are completely negligible. We are attracted by the Moon when we're on Earth, but the gravity pull of the Moon is approximately 0.0006% that of the Earth.
But in space, if you're somewhere between Earth and Moon, you'll be attracted by both of them and you'll have to calculate both values to know towards which direction you'll be attracted.
Sub2PewDiePie8173 t1_ixv889q wrote
So we’re 0.0006% lighter when the Moon is overhead?
wildgurularry t1_ixvlhrd wrote
Yes, unfortunately not enough to affect the scale when you are weighing yourself.
Sub2PewDiePie8173 t1_ixvr9d4 wrote
Do you think if Sun was close enough, but it somehow didn’t affect Earth itself, would we be a lot lighter?
wildgurularry t1_ixvs4ao wrote
Sure, if you brought the sun close enough, you would start to float up towards it instead of being held down to the earth.
Of course, the entire earth would be ripped apart as a result of this, but you would definitely feel light on your feet as everything around you was being destroyed.
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uh-okay-I-guess t1_ixx3zrp wrote
Just to put this in perspective, you are also 0.0006% lighter if you climb 20 meters further from the center of the earth.
Kered13 t1_ixy6fcj wrote
You're also 0.5% lighter by moving from one of the poles to the equator, because of centrifugal forces and because the Earth bulges at the equator.
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