eli5 Does gravity act the same for large objects as it does for small objects. So if I were to shrink planet Earth and the moon to say half the size and the distance between them too then would they continue orbiting. Would this also apply if they somehow became much larger?

Question

eli5 Does gravity act the same for large objects as it does for small objects. So if I were to shrink planet Earth and the moon to say half the size and the distance between them too then would they continue orbiting. Would this also apply if they somehow became much larger?

In: 9

Answer 1

The math equation for working our gravitational force only has the following components:
Mass of objects,
Distance,
The gravitational constant.

The constant remains the same. So the only variables are mass and distance.

Gravity affects all mass at all distances.

However, the effect of gravity over vast interstellar and intergalactic and beyond distances is negligible in calculations when figuring out orbits of planets and moons.
For example the black hole at the centre of our galaxy doesn’t noticbly effect the orbit of the moon around the earth. It does have some effect but its so small it isn’t meaningful for human understanding.