Question

gravity is also responsible for the orbits of celestial objects beyond the solar system.
the closest star to the sun, proxima centauri, is about 4.25 light - years away. proxima
centauri’s mass is only about 12.5% of the sun’s mass. despite its much smaller mass,
proxima centauri does not orbit the sun. it instead orbits a pair of sun - like stars, alpha
centauri a and b, which are less than 1 light - year away from it.
complete the paragraph to explain why proxima centauri does not orbit the sun.
proxima centauri is so the sun that the sun’s gravity is
to close to uri into orbit around it. proxima centauri is
much far away from, alpha centauri a and b. because of this,
alpha centauri a and b have a gravitational influence on proxima centauri
than the sun does. proxima centauri orbits around alpha centauri a and b, rather than
orbiting the sun.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the gravitational influence based on distance:

Step 1: First Blank (Distance from Sun)

From the text, Proxima Centauri is about 4.25 light - years from the Sun, while it's less than 1 light - year from Alpha Centauri A and B. So, Proxima Centauri is far away from the Sun.

Step 2: Second Blank (Sun’s Gravity Effect)

Gravitational force decreases with distance. Since Proxima Centauri is far from the Sun, the Sun’s gravity is too weak to pull it into orbit.

Step 3: Third Blank (Distance from Alpha Centauri A and B)

Proxima Centauri is less than 1 light - year from Alpha Centauri A and B, so it is close to them.

Step 4: Fourth Blank (Gravitational Influence Comparison)

Because Proxima Centauri is much closer to Alpha Centauri A and B than to the Sun, Alpha Centauri A and B have a stronger gravitational influence on Proxima Centauri than the Sun does.

Answer:

1. far away from
2. too weak
3. close to
4. stronger