What is the curvature of space caused by massive objects?

From the NASA website “100 Years of General Relativity.” “At its most basic, general relativity is a way to describe gravity by attributing it to the curvature of space-time that occurs in the presence of massive bodies. Massive objects cause space-time to stretch.

What is meant by curvature of space?

noun Physics, Astronomy. (in relativity) a property of space near massive bodies in which their gravitational field causes light to travel along curved paths.

Why does spacetime curve around massive objects?

Since matter carries energy (via Einstein’s famous relation that energy is mass times the speed of light squared), such objects will have a gravitational field and so they will distort space-time. …

Does mass cause a curvature of space?

Around any mass (or energy), spacetime is curved. The presence of planets, stars and galaxies deform the fabric of spacetime like a large ball deforms a bedsheet. (This deformation occurs in four dimensions, so the two-dimensional bedsheet is a limited model.

Why do objects accelerate around massive bodies?

Thus, more massive objects fall faster than less massive objects because they are acted upon by a larger force of gravity; for this reason, they accelerate to higher speeds until the air resistance force equals the gravity force.

Does space really curve?

Space is indeed curved — in four dimensions. Einstein used time as a fourth dimension to describe a coordinate system called space-time. This is the stage on which planets, stars, galaxies — all matter in the universe — act their gravitational roles.

Why are more massive objects heavier?

The more massive object feels heavier because it has more inertia, and you are trying to stop it from moving along the geodesic. small objects own static gravitational field, that will cause them to accelerate at different rates towards Earth.