If the Earth is orbiting the sun and the sun is moving around the galaxy, and the galaxy itself is moving through space, why is it, with so many different speeds, that the planets’ orbits are so stable?

Question

With so much going on gravity-wise, it blows my mind that even with the solar system moving around the galaxy, everything stays so perfectly in place.

In: 8

Answer 1

The speeds don’t matter. Speed only exists relative to something else. As far as each planet is concerned on its own, it isn’t moving.

As far as the solar system is concerned, the planets orbit the sun and that’s all. The solar system does not ‘feel’ any motion because the only thing that is pushing on it pushes evenly on all of it.