– Okay, so the solar system is hurtling through space at around 200km/s and by extension so are the planets. I get that we can launch a rocket and land it on another planet, but does this mean that the rocket would also be travelling at approx 200km/s as well?

Question

And additionally, would it ever be possible to launch something into deep space and get entirely left in the dust by the solar system whizzing by? Completely untethered from its gravity?

In: 9

Answer 1

Not “though space”, there is no inherent stationary frame of reference. Solar system is moving around mass center of Milky Way at about 220km/s and yes, so does everything in solar system, everything from rockets to teddy bears included.

If however we don’t care about center of Milky Way and only look at Earth’s orbit around Sun, then that speed is only 30km/s

Speed is always relative to something else. It’s just confusing because in everyday vernacular we are used to assuming that speed is relative to Earth, making us treat speed almost as if it were an absolute quantity, it isn’t.