Does gravity pull objects into orbit of earth or contact with atmosphere?
Gravity pulls objects towards the centre of mass of the object. The Earth is reasonably symetrical so its centre of mass is near the centre of the Earth. Satelites orbit the Earth because, as well as being pulled “down” by gravity, they are travelling very fast sideways. Because of this they keep “missing” the Earth and end up orbiting the Earth. If they were going too fast sideways they would get further and further away and would eventually escape the Earth’s gravity altogether. If they were going too slow they would get closer and closer and would eventually either burn up in the atmosphere or hit the ground. In fact most satelites are close enough to the atmosphere that small amounts of drag are continually slowing them down, which is why if they are not continuously monitored and maintained they crash back to Earth. If an object approaches Earth from space gravity pulls it towards the centre of the Earth. If it is heading straight for us it will enter the atmosphere and burn up or
