Question

Why do the planets not travel in a straight path?

A.) The forces of inertia and gravity cause them to move in a elliptical orbit around Earth.
B.) The forces of inertia cause the planets to move in curved paths around the sun.
C.) The forces of gravity and inertia combine to produced elliptical orbits around the sun.
D.) all of the above

Answer 1

The reason why the planets do not travel in a straight path is expressed by the second option represented above : B. the forces of gravity and inertia combine to produce elliptical orbits around the sun. To be recognized as a planet the object has to have cleared its orbital path of similar sized objects by absorption or capturing them as moons.