Explaining The Universe on Instagram: "Spacecraft can use the gravity of planets or moons to change their velocity and direction through a technique called a gravity assist or gravitational slingshot. This method takes advantage of the motion and gravitational pull of a celestial body to boost or alter a spacecraft’s path without using extra fuel. When a spacecraft flies close to a planet or moon, it is pulled by the body’s gravity, gaining speed as it falls toward it and losing speed as it move

Ancient Skies on Instagram: "What you’re looking at is a black hole simulation—a hands-on science exhibit designed to show how gravity works around massive objects in space. By rolling coins down the ramp, you can see them spiral inward, mimicking the way stars, planets, and even light itself bend and fall toward a black hole’s center of gravity. In reality, black holes are some of the most extreme objects in the universe. Their gravitational pull is so strong that nothing—not even light—can esc