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Q: What orbit is it when satellites pass over the poles of the earth?
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Continue Learning about Astronomy

The planet with the most satellites?

Earth. Earth has one natural satellite, the moon, which is in orbit around the earth. There are around 3000 man made satellites currently in orbit. Jupiter has the most natural satellites (moons), over 60 have been confirmed. It has no man made satellites in orbit around it, but did have one between 1995 and 2003, an orbiter called Galileo.


What do polar orbiting satellites do?

Polar orbits pass over the north and south poles of the Earth.


What are polar satellites used for?

Weather tracking and communications over the poles!


Where do satellites fly?

Man-made satellites are either in low, medium or high earth orbits, depending on their function. The closest ones, including the International space station, are in a low earth orbit, up to a height of 2000 km. The International Space Station orbits at a height of around 340km, while the Hubble Telescope is around 595km. The advantage of these is that less energy is required to get there, but the disadvantage is that their orbits may decay over time, since there is some drag on the atmospheric gas still at these heights - so these may need a 'boost' every now and then to maintain their orbits. At higher altitudes, satellites will orbit more slowly, taking longer to make one orbit. The medium Earth orbit extends to 35,786km above the Earths surface, from here the high earth orbit begins. At this point, the time taken for a satellite to orbit once around the earth is 24 hours, the same as one day. 35,786km is a special orbit for Geo-stationary satellites. Since they orbit the earth in the same time that it takes the earth to spin once on its axis, it means that the satellite can stay in roughly the same spot over the earth.


What are Geo - stationary orbit satellites?

Geo stationary satellites are man made objects sent up into space that orbit the Earth parallel with and in the plane of the equator. They are sent up into space so that their distance from the Earth and hence their orbital speed matches the speed with which the Earth rotates on its axis. This means that they maintain a constant "stationary" position over a point on the equator of the planet. This is useful for communications and earth observation purposes.

Related questions

What is the inclination of a satellite to the earths equator?

There is no set inclination of a satellites orbit to the earth's equator. Once in space, the spin of the earth or where it's poles happen to be become irrelevant to the satellite. Many satellites like spy and weather satellites orbit over the two poles (north and south) while communication satellites are placed in orbit directly above the equator at a height that is synchronised with the earth's orbit. This way they stay permanently above the same place on the equator and do not APPEAR to move at all.


What is the force that makes satellites orbit at the same height around the earth?

Gravity keeps satellites in orbit. The closer you are to the Earth, the faster you have to go to maintain your orbit. At low Earth orbit, the altitude of the Space Station, you make an orbit every 90 minutes. At the Moon's distance you need over 27 days to go around the Earth. In-between there is an altitude which matches the rate of the Earth's rotation. Many satellites orbit at this altitude.


What term is given to satellites that remain above the same point on the Earth's surface in their orbit?

There are two types of satellites that are located in a foxed spot over earth the first is reconnaissance satellites for observation of earth and usually used by the military.. The second is earth observation satellites and are intended for environmental monitoring


What are the main differences between geostationary orbit and polar orbit?

A polar orbit is an Orbit in which a Satellite passes above or nearly above both of the Geographical poles of the body (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Sun being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an Inclination of (or very close to) 90 degrees to the Equator. Except in the special case of a polar Geosynchronous orbit, a satellite in a polar orbit will pass over the equator at a different Longitude on each of its orbits.A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular orbit directly above the Earth's Equator From the ground, a geostationary object appears motionless in the sky and is therefore the Orbit of most interest to operators of Communication Satellites. Their orbital periods (time taken to revolve around earth) is exactly the same as the planet's (such as Earth's) rotational period. The Geosynchronous orbit is approximately 36,000 km above Earth's surface.geostionary satellites are positioned at an exact height above the earth, at this height they orbit the earth at the same speed at which the earth rotates on its axis whereas polar satellites have a much lower orbit, orbiting the earth quite quickly, scanning different areas of the earth at fairly infrequent periods.


The planet with the most satellites?

Earth. Earth has one natural satellite, the moon, which is in orbit around the earth. There are around 3000 man made satellites currently in orbit. Jupiter has the most natural satellites (moons), over 60 have been confirmed. It has no man made satellites in orbit around it, but did have one between 1995 and 2003, an orbiter called Galileo.


What do polar orbiting satellites do?

Polar orbits pass over the north and south poles of the Earth.


Do all satellites orbit the same direction?

No, all satellites do not orbit Earth at the same altitude. An good overview of this can be found on http://www.idirect.net/Company/Satellite-Basics/How-Satellite-Works.aspx. This overview reviews Low Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit and Geostationary Orbits.


Which orbit would be best for investigating the Arctic and Antarctic?

If the satellite is in an orbit that takes it over the North and South Poles, it will eventually cover all parts of the Earth as the Earth spins beneath it. This kind of orbit is called a polar orbit.


What kind of orbit are observation satellites usually placed in?

You mean Earth observation satellites, and the answer is near-Polar low-Earth orbits. This means that as the satellite orbits from above one pole to the other, the Earth turns beneath it, and the satellite passes over the Equator, and every other point on its orbit, at a different place on each successive orbit. In this way, after enough orbits, it can view the whole Earth. Earth observation satellites are placed in low-Earth orbit because (a) they travel faster over the ground at lower altitude and (b) being closer to the ground, their telescopes do not need to be so powerful to achieve a given spatial resolution. Military observation, or spy, satellites, are often placed in a high parking orbit until they are needed, whereupon they are placed into a highly elliptical orbit to allow them to come very close to Earth (and hence see it with great detail) over the region of interest.


Why do satellites have a period of rotation equal to the earths period of rotation?

Some satellites cover the whole earth each pass, because that is what they are used for. However, many also cover nly certan regions such as the poles or the equator or one continent or one country. Geostationary orbiters for example, stay above the same place forever (that is, until they are taken or sent down by something). Many orbit over the same places each time, covering the same regions each pass. This is true of all satellites, the difference is how large the regions are nd how many of them. Some satellites cover the whole earth each pass, because that is what they are used for.


Uses of artificial satellites pathways artificial satellites can take geostationary and low polar orbit?

The altitude of the satellite is critical depending on the purpose of the satellite. Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are fairly close to the Earth, and is good for photographic reconnaissance; it's a lot easier to get a good photo from 140 miles up as opposed to 23,000 miles up. The LEO satellite passes quickly over the surface, and isn't visible above the horizon for more than a few minutes per orbit, so LEO satellites work poorly for communications purposes. Geo-synchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 23,000 miles, and orbit the Earth in 24 hours - meaning, they orbit the Earth in the same time that it takes for the Earth to spin once. So a GEO satellite that's over the equator will appear to be in a fixed position in the sky, and doesn't appear to move. These are excellent for ground communications and relay purposes, because the ground antenna doesn't need to move; it's always pointed at the satellite. Polar orbit satellites will pass over every point on the Earth; the satellite is going around the world while the Earth spins beneath it.


What are polar satellites used for?

Weather tracking and communications over the poles!