– 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

Solar system moves across the galaxy with 200km/s means that you have to achieve a higher speed to escape Milky Way, namely about 500km/s. Escape velocity from a solar system can similarly be estimated by velocity of object within the solar system, it’s about 40 km/s. If you manage to achieve 0 velocity relative to Sun, you will collide with it pretty quickly. Similarly if you stop in the reference frame of the Milky Way, you will move to it’s center and collide with something there.