an inverse-square journey

How fast does the Sun's pull fade?

mission started — square the distance factor

The Sun keeps tugging far beyond the planets. The pull has no hard edge—but it fades steeply. Learn the square rule, then fly six times farther.

clue 1

A faint pull can still bend a path

A comet follows a curved dotted path around the glowing Sun across empty space.

Gravity does not switch off at a fence. It weakens smoothly with distance, and other nearby bodies may eventually pull more strongly.

clue 2 · build the square

Distance counts twice

Distance1 × 1 · full pull
1×3×

At 2× the distance, split the old pull into 2 × 2 shares. At 3×, split it into 3 × 3 shares.

clue 3 · follow the fade

Farther means weaker, never a cliff

Distancefull modeled pull
1× distance5× distance

Move the probe from 1× to 5×. The pull arrow shrinks smoothly; no boundary switches it off.

try the rule

Practice squaring new distances

Practice distance2² = 4 · keep 1 share
2×4×

Build grids for 2×, 3×, and 4×. One tile shows the remaining share.

put the clues together

Now fly to the sixth marker

The probe starts at 1× and will stop at 6×. Use your distance clues to predict the pull there.

Commit before the new setup runs.

At 6× the distance, how strong is the Sun's pull?