An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. The energy that an object possesses because of its position in a → gravitational field, especially an object near the surface of the Earth where the → gravitational acceleration can be assumed to be constant, at about 9.8 m s^-2.
   

2. In a two body system. It is the amount of work done in bringing the mass
   m to the distance R from M:
   E_P = -GMm/R, where G is the → gravitational constant.
   

3. For a uniform sphere. It is E_P = -(3/5)GM²/R, where G is the gravitational constant and M is the mass contained in the sphere of radius R.

See also: → gravitational; → potential; → energy.