If one were standing on a body that is part of a binary system such as Pluto/Charon, would the g-forces of the motion of the planet be perceptible by a human?
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2$\begingroup$ What do you mean by perceptible? Astronomically observable? Measurable on a lab experiment? Perceptible g-forces on humans? $\endgroup$– Emilio PisantyFeb 5, 2013 at 18:58
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$\begingroup$ I have updated the question. $\endgroup$– trpt4himFeb 5, 2013 at 21:50
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$\begingroup$ Then zhermes' answer applies. Humans feel g-forces of order 1 g (unless they change suddenly). Assuming the planet has Earth-like surface gravity, that puts the planet pretty near the Roche limit. $\endgroup$– Emilio PisantyFeb 6, 2013 at 10:10
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Assuming you mean, 'could a person feel it?' - then no. To be able to feel the effect of the motion, the system would have to be near break-up (with the surface near the Roche/Tidal limit), which never really happens for binary-planets.
For a planet very near a star, it could be perceptible... but in most cases you'd be burned up (etc) due to the close proximity to the star.
answered Feb 5, 2013 at 17:56