Eli5 How do you navigate in space?

Question

There’s no north or anything, are there coordinates or you just point at a planet and go for it?

In: Physics

Answer 1

you point at where the planet will be when you get there because it will move while you are moving toward it. its just a bit confusing because you’re moving from one frame of reference to another, going to the moon for example, you’re moving from the earth being your frame of reference to the moon being the frame of reference. its a bit like jumping into a car moving 60mph from standing still. if you started running first and made it upto 59mph you could slip into the car with a minor speed differential but you’d probably die doing it from a standstill. or miss. the idea is to match the speed and direction and rendezvous with whatever it is somewhere a long its orbit. you’re matching orbits at least for a period of time so you and the target are on the same trajectory.