Is Earth Orbiting Sun Or A Point In Space? Read This Fascinating Analysis

Our early conceptions of planets orbiting perfectly around the Sun might need to be slightly revised. While the Sun is unquestionably dominant in our Solar System, a fresh look at planetary motion highlights an interesting detail: Earth isn't actually orbiting the Sun.

The reason for this update is the barycenter, the center of mass in an orbiting body system. Imagine a cosmic playground where the Sun and Earth serve as the fulcrum around which both objects balance and rotate. This point, known as the barycenter, is not fixed within the Sun.

Although the Sun is the heavyweight champion of our Solar System, it doesn't always claim the barycenter as its throne. The immense mass of the Sun pulls Earth into its orbit, but according to Newton's law of universal gravitation, this attraction is a two-way street. Earth, in its own small way, exerts a gravitational pull on the Sun too.

While Earth's tug is negligible compared to the Sun's grip, it's enough to nudge the barycenter slightly. This point typically resides very close to the Sun's center but not always. The influence of giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn can occasionally pull the barycenter outside the Sun's boundaries.

NASA explains, "Kepler's third law describes the relationship between the masses of two objects mutually revolving around each other and the determination of orbital parameters."

NASA further elaborates, "Consider a small star in orbit about a more massive one. Both stars actually revolve about a common center of mass, which is called the barycenter. This is true no matter what the size or mass of each of the objects involved. Measuring a star's motion about its barycenter with a massive planet is one method that has been used to discover planetary systems associated with distant stars."

Due to the Sun's immense mass, the barycenter usually lies very close to, but not necessarily within, the Sun's center. The influence of giant planets like Jupiter and Saturn can occasionally pull the barycenter outside the Sun. Therefore, Earth's orbit is more accurately described as a path around this shared center of mass, rather than strictly around the Sun itself.

"Planets orbit the Sun in general terms," Planetary astronomer Dr James O'Donoghue explains on X (Twitter), "but *technically* they don't orbit the Sun alone because the gravitational influence of (mainly) Jupiter means planets must orbit a new point in space."

"The planets do orbit the Sun of course, we are just being pedantic about the situation," he added. "The natural thinking is that we orbit the Sun's center, but that very rarely happens, i.e. it's very rare for the solar system's center of mass to align with the Sun's center."

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Man Sets Mother On Fire Inside UP Police Station, Films Her

The cops came running, some threw mud, others got the gunny sacks as a woman was set on fire inside a police station in Uttar Pradesh, shows a disturbing video. Hemlata, who suffered 40% burns, died during treatment at a hospital, said police.

The incident, which was captured on CCTV, took place around 2 pm at Khair police station in Aligarh.

The CCTV footage shows the woman rushing into the police station when she was doused with petrol and set on fire by a man next to her, which the cops say is her son Gaurav.

As a cop tries to take the lighter out of the woman's hand, it falls to the ground and the son, who has a mobile in one hand, sets her on fire, shows the video.

A huge ball of fire erupts and everyone backs off. The son falls to the ground, shows the video, gets up and starts recording the ghastly scene.

The 22-year-old son has been arrested, says Sanjiv Suman Senior Superintendent of Police.

"Her son set her on fire at the police station. There was a family dispute regarding a land. She had filed an FIR. Today, the two warring sides were visiting the police station to find a solution. But the parties failed to reach an understanding. Soon after the woman went out. When she returned, her son set her on fire. The incident was caught on camera," said Mr Suman.

The family has been shown the video, said the officer.

"By the time the police intervened, the son had set her on fire. The cops also suffered burns while trying to extinguish the fire. The woman was immediately rushed to a hospital," the cop added.

(With inputs from Adnan Khan)

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"Car-o-Bar" At Noida Wedding Lands 4 In Jail

Consuming alcohol in a car at an open space during wedding celebrations has landed four people in jail in Noida, the police said on Monday.

The accused were drinking liquor near a banquet hall in Sector 73, located within the Sector 113 police station limits, on Sunday, officials said.

According to a statement issued by the police, those held are from the banquet hall's management team and the operator of the bar set up in a modified car.

However, the police did not say if they got a complaint or took action against the guests or hosts of the wedding ceremony.

"The police received information about open consumption of alcohol on Sunday, leading to immediate action against the event management team and the bar operator," they said.

Those held have been identified as Haider (30), Arjun (20), Ajit (21), and Prateek Taneja (27), the police said.

Mr Taneja, a resident of Delhi, owns the modified car that has been seized, they added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"No Love Lost": Fawad Khan Reveals He's In Touch With Ranbir Kapoor

Fawad Khan has been hitting the headlines ever since his Bollywood comeback announced. The Pakistani heartthrob, who has a huge fanbase in India as well, was recently asked if he is still in touch with his co-stars like Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and director Karan Johar in an interview with Pinkvilla. The Ae Dil Hai Mushkil actor replied, "I'm in touch on and off. Hamari baat ho jaati hai kabhi chat pe (We often chat on whatsapp) and on phone so I've been in touch and I have enjoyed a very good relationship with the Kapoor family and there is still a lot of love and respect even with Karan and Shakun so dostiyaan hai and then there's some producers friends jiske saath gaap shap lagi rehti hai (I am in touch with some of my producer friends as well) aur then we make plans of meeting somewhere so on and off we talk, we keep in touch and we're still very cordial and still very friendly and there's no love lost."

For the unversed, Fawad Khan made his Bollywood debut in Khoobsurat opposite Sonam Kapoor. He shared screen space with Ranbir Kapoor in Karan Johar's directorial Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Fawad Khan acted in Shakun Batra's Kapoor & Sons, which was produced by the Dharma productions.

Fawad Khan will make his Bollywood comeback opposite Vaani Kapoor. The Hindi romantic-comedy will be directed by Aarti Bagdi. IANS quoted a trade source stating, "Fawad Khan has a massive international pull given his popularity among South Asians worldwide. He has also been a part of the Marvel cinematic universe. Details of this project are being kept under wraps, and everyone is tight-lipped about it." The trade source added, "The romantic comedy  narrates the story of how two broken people meet by a stroke of luck and end up helping each other, unintentionally falling in love."

Fawad Khan will next be seen in the series Barzakh. He has re-united with his Zindagi Gulzar Hai co-star Sanam Saeed in the series. Pakistani heartthrobs Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Sanam Saeed will headline Netflix's first Pakistan-themed original Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo.  The series is an official adaptation of Farhat Ishtiaq's bestselling 2013 Urdu-language novel of the same name.

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Cave Found On Moon, Could Shelter Humans In Future

Scientists have found evidence for an accessible cave conduit beneath the moon's surface. The location of the underground cave is not far from Apollo 11's landing site. It's 250 miles (400 kilometers) from where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed 55 years ago.

Researchers analysed radar measurements by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and compared the results with lava tubes on Earth. Their findings appeared in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The finding suggests that the cave is a "promising site for a lunar base" as it offers shelter from the harsh surface environment and could support long-term human exploration of the Moon.

The cave is accessible from the deepest known pit on the moon. It's located at the Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility)

The pit, like the more than 200 others discovered up there, was created by the collapse of a lava tube.

NASA is aiming to build a semi-permanent crewed base on the moon, China and Russia have also announced interest in creating lunar research outposts. But, a permanent lunar base can only be set up in environments protected from cosmic radiation and with stable temperatures.

Such caves could form an emergency lunar shelter because the astronauts would be naturally shielded from harmful cosmic rays, solar radiation and micrometeorites.

Lunar orbiters first spotted pits on the moon more than a decade ago. Many are thought to be "skylights" that connect to underground caves such as lava tubes, giant underground tunnels that form through volcanic processes, reported The Guardian.

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Euro 2024 Final LIVE: Yamal Scripts History | ESP 0-0 ENG In Second Half

UEFA Euro 2024 Final LIVE Updates, Spain vs England LIVE Score: Spain are 0-0 in the second half against England in the Euro 2024 final at Olympiastadion in Berlin on Monday (IST). Spain have been extremely impressive in the competition till now and they defeated France 2-1 in the semi-finals with Lamine Yamal becoming the youngest scorer in the history of Euros. On the other hand, it has been a somewhat tough journey for England but they produced an inspired show to defeat Netherlands 2-1. (MATCH CENTER)

Follow UEFA Euro 2024 Final LIVE Updates, Spain vs England LIVE Score here -

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"Heading To Bharat": Divyanka-Vivek, Robbed In Italy, Thank Indian Embassy

Days after being robbed in Italy, television couple Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek Dahiya will return to India soon. On Sunday, the couple shared a joint post to thank the Indian Embassy for making their 'Ghar Wapasi' possible. Divyanka shared a picture featuring herself and husband Vivek Dahiya where they can be seen holding emergency certificates. For the unversed, Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek Dahiya lost belongings worth Rs 10 lakh and passports as they fell victims to a robbery in Florence a few days ago. The couple went to Europe to celebrate their wedding anniversary together. Sharing the picture, Divyanka wrote, "Heading to Bharat soon. We want to thank 'You' for your overwhelming love and support. A big thanks to the Indian Embassy for making our 'Ghar Wapasi' possible." Take a look:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya (@divyankatripathidahiya)

On Saturday, Divyanka shared an update and informed fans and followers that the money situation was sorted as they received help from a friend. Divyanka wrote,  "Dear all, thanks for your immense love and support. It truly means a lot. After losing so much, thankfully the much needed love is not lost. Giving our loved ones and the concerned people an update as we are unable to reply to everyone personally. Currently our money situation is kind of sorted as we've got some help from a dear friend."

Divyanka  added in her post, "We've replaced the rented car as it was thankfully insured. We will be heading towards the embassy in another city today to get the emergency certificate sorted. Also, we have not lost everything - as being reported. We have a few things left that were in the boot of the car. Also, left with our spirit intact. No one can snatch that away."

Earlier, in an interview with ETimes, Vivek Dahiya recalled the harrowing experience. Speaking to ETimes,  Vivek said, "Everything about this trip has been incredible, except for this incident. We arrived in Florence yesterday and planned to stay for a day. We went to check out a property we liked for our stay and left all our belongings in a car parked outside. However, when we returned to get our stuff, we were shocked to find that the car had been broken into, and our passports, wallets, money, shopping, and all our valuable items were gone. Fortunately, they left behind some old clothes and food items."

Divyanka married her Ye Hai Mohabbatein co-actor Vivek on July 8, 2016, in Bhopal.

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