Escape velocity of sun

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Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph (about 40,000 kilometers per hour) to escape Earth?

– Bo H., age 10, Durham, New Hampshire

There’s a reason why a rocket has to go so fast to escape Earth. It’s about gravity – something all of us experience every moment of every day.

Gravity is the force that pulls you toward the ground.

And that’s a good thing.

Escape velocity of earth in km/hr

Gravity keeps you on Earth; otherwise, you would float away into space.

But gravity also makes it difficult to leave Earth if you’re a rocket heading for space. Escaping our planet’s gravitational pull is hard – not only is gravity strong, but it also extends far away from Earth.

Like a balloon

As a rocket scientist, one of the things I do is teach students how rockets overcome gravity. Here’s how it works:

Essentially, the rocket has to make thrust – that is, create force – by burning propellant to make hot gases.

Then it shoots those hot gases out of a nozzle.

how fast is earths escape velocity

how fast is the escape velocity of a black hole