Gravitationally Bound Systems

King City Astronomy 1Class 2

Zoe Buck

The Most Important Things about GRAVITATIONALLY BOUND SYSTEMS

• Gravitationally bound systems are made up of objects held in orbit about each other by their gravitational attraction

• A gravitationally bound system can have any number of objects• All gravitationally bound systems have a center of gravity• A solar system is a gravitationally bound system (example: our

Solar System)• A star system is a gravitationally bound system (example: a star

cluster)• A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system (example: The Milky

Way Galaxy)• A group, or cluster of galaxies is a gravitationally bound system

(example: Local Group)• A super cluster is NOT gravitationally bound (example: Virgo

Supercluster)

Gravitationally Bound:

Objects held in orbit about each other by their

gravitational attraction

Center of gravity

http://merganser.math.gvsu.edu/david/reed03/projects/salomne/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM4fmL6dLdY

Galaxy groups and clusters are the largest gravitationally bound systems that we have observed in the Universe

Galaxies

Star Systems

Solar Systems

NOT our Sun!

Earth-Moon System

The Most Important Things about GRAVITATIONALLY BOUND SYSTEMS

• Gravitationally bound systems are objects held in orbit about each other by their gravitational attraction

• A gravitationally bound system can have any number of objects• All gravitationally bound systems have a center of gravity• A solar system is a gravitationally bound system (example: our

Solar System)• A star system is a gravitationally bound system (example: a star

cluster)• A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system (example: The Milky

Way Galaxy)• A group, or cluster of galaxies is a gravitationally bound system

(example: Local Group)• A super cluster is NOT gravitationally bound (example: Virgo

Supercluster)