Submitted by LoreCriticizer t3_z53aqr in askscience
fliguana t1_ixwq0dy wrote
Reply to comment by haysoos2 in How would one calculate the gravity of a planet? by LoreCriticizer
>For pretty much all important considerations, the only number you need to know is a planet's surface gravity. This will govern such things as the escape velocity
Incorrect. Two planets with identical surface gravity can have different escape velocities.
Simplification is good to a point, dumbing down leads to errors.
haysoos2 t1_ixwrzrc wrote
Ok, admittedly escape velocity will be a little different. In my examples above the escape velocity on the iron planet will be 1.7 times higher than on Earth, and on the water planet it will only be about 20% that of Earth's escape velocity, but it's close enough that for say, a fiction based on the Star Wars universe it will be much closer than anything actually used in the series.
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