Newton’s Law of Gravity and

Orbits of Planets & Satellites

The Universal Law of Gravitation

Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation states that any two point masses attract each other with a
force proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the
distance between them. The force of universal gravitation is a very weak force and only becomes
noticeable when at least one of the objects is extremely massive. The force acts equally on both
masses.

F F
m1 m2
r

m1m2
F= G where F = gravitational force on each mass (N)
r2

Where G = 6.67 × 10-11 N m2 /kg2 is universal gravitational constant, m1, m2 are the point masses,
r is the distance between the masses.

The direction of this force is always along the line between the two masses. If one object is
spherically symmetric, the force exerted on another object outside the sphere is exactly as if the
whole spherical mass were concentrated at the center.

Gravitational Field

A gravitational field is the force field created around an object that causes gravitational attraction
of other objects. The gravitational field strength at a point in a gravitational field is the force per
unit of mass of an object placed at that point. From Newton’s Second Law of Motion, we can
regard "force per unit mass" as being equivalent to acceleration.

Therefore, gravitational field strength is another name for acceleration due to gravity.

mM E
G
F
g= = r2 = G ME ,
m m r2

where r is the distance of the test mass m from the center of the mass M creating gravitational
field. The unit of gravitational field strength is the same as that of acceleration, i.e. N/kg, or m/s2.
For the gravitational field created by Earth, when r < RE, the gravitational field g is proportional to
the distance of the test mass from the center of Earth. When r ≈ RE, the gravitational field g =
9.81m/s2. When r >RE, the curve is an inverse square law.

Shell Theorem

The shell theorem states the following:

1. A uniform spherical shell of matter attracts a particle that is outside as if all the shell’s mass
were concentrated at its center.

2. A uniform shell of matter exerts no net gravitational force on a particle located inside the shell.

Applying the shell theorem to the gravitational field created by Erath, we can see that for r < RE
(points inside the Earth), the gravitational field strength is directly proportional to the distance
from the center of Earth r. By the shell theorem, the masses outside the test mass give no force

to the test mass, and the gravitational force is solely the result of the remaining mass
4 4
M = V ⋅ ρ = π r 3 ρ (remember that the volume of a sphere is π r 3 ) where ρ is the average
3 3
density of the Earth. However, the mass M can be regarded as a point mass located at the center
of Earth, hence can express the gravitational field as
4
G( π r 3 ρ )
GM 3 4 4 ME GM E
g= 2 = 2
= Gπ r ρ = Gπ r ( )= r.
r r 3 3 4
π RE3 RE3
3
As shown in the graph below, when r <RE, the gravitational field g is proportional to the distance
of the test mass and the center of earth. When r >RE, the curve is an inverse square law.

Earth's distance from the center of Earth

The gravitational potential energy of a system consisting of masses m and M with a distance r
between their centers is

M m
U = −G
r

The negative sign reflects on the fact that the gravitational force is attractive. U is equal to the
work done of the gravitational force to move a mass m from a point r measured from the center of
the mass M to infinity. Note that U approaches zero as r approaches infinity.

Satellite Orbits

The centripetal force for a satellite in its orbit is the gravitational attraction. Since the gravity can
be considered the only force acting on the satellite, by Newton’s Second Law:

v2 GM E m mv 2 GM E m
Fg = mac where ac = and Fg = . Thus =
r r2 r r2

GM E
v2 = Multiplying both the numerator and denominator of this expression by RE2 and
r
GM E GM E RE2 RE2
rearranging, we get v 2 = = = g
r RE2 r r
 Satellite

r
RE
Earth

Orbit

For example, if the orbit of the satellite is 200 km from the Earth’s surface, and considering that
the Earth’s radius is 6400 km, the speed of the satellite can be found as

RE2
v 2 = (9.81 m/s 2 )( )
r
(6.40 × 106 m) 2
= (9.81 m/s 2 )
(6400 + 200) × 103 m
(6.40 × 106 m) 2
= (9.81 m/s 2 )
6.60 × 106 m
v 2 = 6.09 × 107 m 2 /s 2
v = 7.80 × 103 m/s

The time for the satellite to make one complete orbit of the earth is

2π r
T= ; T ≈ 89 minutes
v
Mechanical Energy of a Satellite

Consider a satellite moving along a circular orbit with tangential velocity v at a distance r from the
center of Earth.

Satellite

r
RE
Earth

t
The potential energy of the satellite is

GM E m
U (r ) = − .
r

The total mechanical energy = K + U

Hence, we have

1 2 GM E m
E= mv − .
2 r

But the centripetal force is provided by the gravitational attraction

mv 2 GM E m
=
r r2

GM E
which gives the velocity v, i.e. v 2 = . Thus, we obtain the total mechanical energy
r

1 GM E GM E m GM E m
E= m( )− =−
2 r r 2r
Launching a Satellite

The satellite can escape from the Earth whenever it has enough energy. “Escape” in this context
means that the satellite gets to the point where the gravitational force is approaching zero. The
potential energy of the satellite at this point is zero as well.

r → ∞
U =0

Satellite

Earth r = RE
RE GM E m
U =−
RE

GM E m
As it leaves the surface of Earth, the potential energy is U = − and its kinetic energy is
RE

1 2
K= mv . Then, the minimum speed for the satellite to escape can be found from the Law of
2
1 2 GM E m
Conservation of Energy: mv − = 0 . (We assume that the kinetic energy of the satellite at
2 RE

the distant point is zero as well.)

1 2 GM E m
mv =
2 RE

2GM E GM
v= = 2( 2 E ) RE = 2 gRE
RE RE
= 2(9.81m/s 2 )(6.4 × 106 m) ≈ 11, 000 m/s = 11km/s
Kepler’s Laws

In 1609, Kepler, a German astronomer, published his three laws on the motion of planets:

1. The planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus.

2. The line connecting a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

3. For every planet, the ratio of the cube of the average orbital radius to the square of the period
R3
of revolution is the same, i.e. = constant.
T2

planet
H
E
perihelion aphelion
A B
D
Sun

As area A = area B, then the time it takes to move from D to E is the same as to move from H to
I. The constant for Kepler’s third law comes from Newton’s second law, F = m a .

GM s M p
= M p ac
R2
GM s M p v2
2
= Mp
R R
GM s = v 2 R

2π R
Since v=
T

4π 2 R 2
GM s = R
T2
R 3 GM s
=
T2 4π 2

R3 GM
That is, for a given central body of mass M, the ratio is constant and equal to for all its
T 2
4π 2
satellites.