Does a satellite travel at its greatest speed when it is closest to or farthest from the earth?

Answer 1

The nearest star is the Sun, 150 million km.

After the Sun, the nearest known star is Proxima Centauri; distance is approximate 4.2 light-years.

The nearest star is the Sun, 150 million km.

After the Sun, the nearest known star is Proxima Centauri; distance is approximate 4.2 light-years.

The nearest star is the Sun, 150 million km.

After the Sun, the nearest known star is Proxima Centauri; distance is approximate 4.2 light-years.

The nearest star is the Sun, 150 million km.

After the Sun, the nearest known star is Proxima Centauri; distance is approximate 4.2 light-years.

Answer 2

In addition to the Moon, the only natural satellite of the Earth, there are several thousand artificial satellites in various orbits, ranging from weather satellites to comsats to small amateur radio satellites.

Answer 3

The nearest star to earth is this sun which is 93 million miles away (91.5-94.5 depending on time of year). The closest star in the night sky, or just the closest star past our sun is Proxima Centauri at 4.2 light years or about 24 trillion miles.

Answer 4

I call the earth's natural satellite "the moon".

Each of the artificial ones has a project designation before it's launched.

News reports of each launch refer to the vehicles by their project names,

and I go along with those.

Answer 5

-- 93 million miles (81/3 light-minutes) to the Sun ... the #1 actual closest star;

-- 25,278,000,000,000 miles (4.3 light-years) to Proxima Centauri ... the closest star

outside our solar system.

Answer 6

The question neglects to mention which particular star it's interested in.

The earth is roughly 93 million miles from the nearest star ... the one we call "the sun" ...

and is gravitationally bound to that one.

The next nearest star to us is the one we call "Alpha Centauri". The distance to that one

is about 4.4 light years, or roughly 25,865,000,000,000 miles. (rounded to the nearest

billion miles)

Answer 7

The smallest possible satellite orbit would be one that just skims the surface of the earth ... which of course is not possible, because a satellite can't maintain orbit when there is air to drag its speed down. But it's an interesting case to consider, because it will provide a thought-provoking answer to your question. The period of this smallest possible orbit would be 86 minutes. Knowing that, and knowing the size of the earth, we can calculate how fast the satellite would be moving: Radius of the earth = 3,970 miles. Circumference of the earth = 2 x pi x 3,970 = 24,950 miles. Period of an orbit with the same circumference as the earth = 86 minutes. Orbital speed = (24950/86 miles per minute) x (60 minutes per hour) = 17,403 miles per hour (rounded) The closer a satellite is to the earth, the faster it moves in its orbit. So now we know that no satellite of the earth can move faster than 17,403 mph, because no orbit can be any smaller and have any shorter period.

Answer 8

It all actually depends on the star you are looking at. Some stars can be 100s of light-years away when another can be 200,000 light-years away.

Answer 9

The closest star from Earth is the sun at an average distance of about 93 million miles.

Answer 10

The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.

There are several thousand artificial satellites in orbit around the Earth.