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in partnership with the Dill Faulkes Educational Trust

 

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Forces

Orbits

An orbit is the path an object in space travels around another. Lots of objects in the Universe orbit others. The Moon orbits the Earth.

Orbit of dwarf planets Pluto and Charon

Momentum

If an object is moving, it has momentum. This is what keeps an object moving in the same direction. The more momentum something has, the harder it is to change its direction or bring it to a stop.

Newton's cradle with five metallic spheres suspended in a row. The leftmost sphere is raised and red, showing potential energy before it strikes the others
This work by ccPixs.com is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Momentum using a Newton's Cradle

Magnetism

Since ancient times, people have known about some rocks that could attract iron. When these rocks were rubbed on other types of metal, they had the power to make them attractive too. These items could also push each other away, repelling each other.

A dark grey and brow rock with a textured surface. On this, three metal nails are sticking to it.
This work by James St. John is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Lodestone, one of a  few minerals that are naturally magnetic.

Gravitational Lensing

Space is not flat. It is 3D, and we say that everything in it is held together on an imaginary surface we call spacetime. The idea of spacetime was put forward in Einstein's theory of relativity.

A white meshed grid against a black background. Three spheres of different size and mass sit on the grid, appearing to distort the grid beneath it. The largest sphere is yellow and causes the most distortion, with the next smallest being orange that causes less distortion. A red sphere is the smallest, with the mesh around it barely being distorted.
This work by ESA–C.Carreau is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Artists impression visualising space-time being distorted by three spheres with different masses. 

Johannes Kepler

Occupation

Astronomer, Mathematician, Scientist, Teacher

Year born

1571

Research Areas

Planetary motion, Optics, Geometry

 

A painting of Johannes Kepler. He is stood with a hand on his hip. There is a table in front of him with parchment papers and a globe placed on it.
This work by August Köhler (circa 1910, based on 1627 original) is licensed under All rights reserved