Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
The force of gravity between two objects is directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers. Mathematically:
* F = G * (m1 * m2) / r²
Where:
* F is the force of gravity
* G is the gravitational constant
* m1 and m2 are the masses of the two objects
* r is the distance between their centers
The Effect of Increased Distance
If the distance between the star and planet triples (r becomes 3r), the force of gravity will be affected as follows:
* F' = G * (m1 * m2) / (3r)²
* F' = G * (m1 * m2) / 9r²
This means the new force of gravity (F') will be 1/9th of the original force (F).
In summary:
* Increasing the distance between the star and planet by a factor of 3 will reduce the gravitational force between them by a factor of 9.
