How to move the object to the position of mouse(opengl?

The position of an object falling through a varying gravitational field from a star as a function of time?

• I'm trying to find the position of a relatively light object falling through the gravitational field from a star (or any heavy spherical object) as a function of time. Initially the object has the distance r0 from the star and the velocity v0. I would like to be able to calculate how long it takes the object to fall from a specific distance to another. I will assume the star doesn't move and that F=GMm/r^2 where M is the mass of the star, m is the mass of the object, G is the gravitational constant and r is the distance from the center of the star. This is not part of my homework or anything like that but merely something I've been thinking about for some time (haven't found a way to solve this, I probably haven't learned the math required yet).

• Answer:

  Yes, you have to use a lot of calculus, as r, the distance varies as the object moves, which changes the force, which changes the acceleration. Not sure you want to get into that level of math. Not sure I want to either.