Kepler's laws of planetary motion of solar system body number "i" is, according to Newton's laws: where formula_72 is the mass of body "j", formula_73 is the distance between body "i" and body "j", formula_74 is the unit vector from body "i" towards body "j", and the vector summation is over all bodies in the world, besides "i" itself. In the special case where there are only two bodies in the world, Earth and Sun, the acceleration becomes which is the acceleration of the Kepler motion. So this Earth moves around the Sun according to Kepler's laws. If the two bodies in the world are
Gravity assist Gravity assist In orbital mechanics and aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist maneuver, or swing-by is the use of the relative movement (e.g. orbit around the Sun) and gravity of a planet or other astronomical object to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, typically to save propellant and reduce expense. Gravity assistance can be used to accelerate a spacecraft, that is, to increase or decrease its speed or redirect its path. The "assist" is provided by the motion of the gravitating body as it pulls on the spacecraft. The gravity assist maneuver was first used in 1959