32
The Sun’s “household” is surprisingly large—nine major planets and about 1,600 smaller bodies, including asteroids. All of these celestial bodies orbit it, held in place by the Sun’s powerful gravity. For example, Earth is pulled toward the Sun with a force equivalent to 3 quintillion tons. The gravitational attraction between the Moon and Earth is so strong that it could snap a steel cable 5,000 miles thick.
However, when the Moon moves closer to the Sun, the Sun’s pull can tug it off its orbit by about 620 miles in just three days. Even a cable that thick—5,000 miles—wouldn’t hold the Moon in place; it would snap.
