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Question
- how does gravity cause the solar system to move within the galaxy?
The Milky Way galaxy has a massive gravitational center (the supermassive black hole at its core, along with the combined gravity of all stars, gas, and dark matter). The solar system, like other stellar systems in the galaxy, is influenced by this gravitational pull. This gravity acts as a centripetal - like force, causing the solar system to orbit around the galactic center. The gravitational attraction between the solar system and the galactic mass distribution (including the central black hole, other stars, and dark matter) keeps the solar system in a roughly circular or elliptical path as it moves through the galaxy, just as the gravity of the Sun keeps the planets in orbit around it, the galaxy's overall gravity keeps the solar system orbiting the galaxy.
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The solar system is influenced by the gravitational pull of the galaxy's mass (including the super - massive black hole at the galactic center, stars, gas, and dark matter). This gravity acts as a centripetal - like force, causing the solar system to orbit around the galactic center, following a roughly circular or elliptical path as it moves within the galaxy.