# Gravity on Other Planets

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 22, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045 "2008-10-22T13:17:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045/21 "2008-10-23T21:35:31Z")

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This wouldn’t be a big problem in half gravity, but the lower the gravity the longer you spend in the air. I have visions of someone putting unwanted angular momentum in his jump and coming down on his head.

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045/22 "2008-10-23T21:54:06Z")

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> [@BMalion](#):
>
> I always found this to be helpful:
> 
> **Elvis On Other Planets Weight Chart**  
> [ul]  
> [li]The Sun – 7,140 pounds [/li][li]Mercury – 97 pounds [/li][li]Venus – 232 pounds [/li][li]Earth – 255 pounds [/li][li]The Moon – 43 pounds [/li][li]Mars – 97 pounds [/li][li]Jupiter – 648 pounds [/li][li]Saturn – 275 pounds [/li][li]Uranus – 232 pounds [/li][li]Neptune – 303 pounds [/li][li]Pluto – 13 pounds[/li][/ul]

Considering Uranus is much larger than Earth, I find it hard to believe that a 255 lb Earthling would weigh less on Uranus.

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**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045/23 "2008-10-23T22:14:37Z")

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> [@Fearless\_Dingo](#):
>
> Say I travelled to another planet that had half the gravity of Earth - 0.5g. On Earth I can jump X feet high from a standing jump and land safely. Assuming that I retained my Earth-native muscles during my travel to this other planet would it necessarily follow that I could jump twice as high and land just as safely as I could on Earth or is there another factor or factors that I’m failing to take into account?

One very important factor more significant than anything else discussed so far will affect your jump on another planet.

You don’t need to be a scientist to know this, so I’ll wait till someone else can figure it out.

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045/24 "2008-10-23T22:28:15Z")

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It’s also lower density, though. A spherical planet’s surface gravity is proportional to its radius times its density.

EDIT: **Dutchman** , you mean your ability to be alive on the planet? I think we’re assuming an enclosed habitat.

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**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045/25 "2008-10-23T22:31:22Z")

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> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#):
>
> One very important factor more significant than anything else discussed so far will affect your jump on another planet.
> 
> You don’t need to be a scientist to know this, so I’ll wait till someone else can figure it out.

One that comes to mind is the composition of the surface. I’d enjoy seeing somebody try to jump from the “surface” of Jupiter, for example.

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**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gravity-on-other-planets/469045/26 "2008-10-23T23:16:59Z")

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> [@InvisibleWombat](#):
>
> One that comes to mind is the composition of the surface. I’d enjoy seeing somebody try to jump from the “surface” of Jupiter, for example.

Darn !

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