The farthest point a satellite in orbit around the Earth can be from the Earth is called apogee. This is the point in the orbit where the satellite is the farthest from Earth.
A satellite in a geostationary orbit orbits the Earth at around 22,300 miles above the equator. Geostationary satellites appear to be stationary in the sky relative to a fixed point on the Earth's surface, making them ideal for communication and weather monitoring.
The linear velocity of a satellite in an elliptical orbit increases as it moves from perigee (closest point to Earth) to apogee (farthest point from Earth) because the gravitational pull is weaker at apogee, causing the satellite to speed up. At perigee, the satellite moves faster due to the stronger gravitational pull from Earth.
The requirement is to place the satellite in such a way that it appears motionless in the sky, as seen from the surface of the earth. This is a great advantage in satellite communication, because if the satellite appears stationary, then the dish antenna on the ground doesn't have to move to follow the satellite ... the dish can be aimed once, and can stay in the same position permanently. In order to have the satellite appear motionless, it has to follow the 24-hour rotation of the earth. The orbital period of any satellite's revolution (around a much larger body) depends only on the average orbital distance. For the earth, the period of a 238,000-mile orbit (where the moon is) is about 27 days, and the period of an orbit that averages about 22,400 miles is 24 hours. So a communications satellite in an orbit with this average distance will complete one revolution around the earth in 24 hours. Wherever it is right now, it will appear in the same exact place 24 hours from now. This is a "geosynchronous" orbit. But that's not good enough yet. The orbit may have the right average distance, but it may still be very eccentric, ranging from close-in to way-out in the course of 24 hours. If that's the case, then it will move faster when it's closer in, and slower when it's farther out. Watching it from the earth, it'll appear to move back and forth like a pendulum, returning to the same position every 24 hours but making a complete left-right swing every day. This still wouldn't be useful for stationary ground-based dish antennas. So another restriction on the orbit is that it must not only be at the correct average distance, but it must also be very close to a circular shape, so that the satellite's speed in the orbit is nearly constant. And there's yet one more requirement that the orbit has to satisfy. Consider this in your imagination: There can't be an orbit where the satellite circulates over, say, a little 20-mile circle around the North Pole. A satellite orbit has to revolve around the "whole earth", which is a clunky way of saying that the center of the earth has to be in the plane of the orbit. The orbit can "incline" as much as you want ... the satellite can stay over the equator all the time, or swing from North pole to South pole and back again, but the center of the orbit always has to be at the center of the earth. Now you can see the final requirement for a communications satellite: If the orbit is inclined to the equator, then the satellite will appear to swing above and below its average location in the sky every 24 hours, which also makes it hard for a stationary antenna on the ground. The orbit has to be oriented at 'zero inclination', meaning it lies directly above the equator at every point. Now, finally, with a nearly circular, equatorial orbit, of exactly the right size, the satellite appears motionless in the sky, and all those little 18-inch TV dishes on the neighborhood rooftops can be pointed once at the satellite and never need to move. A satellite in this orbit is not only "geosynchronous" (24-hour orbital period), but also "geostationary" ... motionless relative to a point on the earth.
They take 24 hours to orbit earth so they will always be in the same place in the sky. This makes it easier for setting up satellite dishes for example, since they have to be pointed toward the satellite.
That's a 'geosynchronous' orbit. If it also happens to be over the equator, so that the satellite appears to stay at the same point in the sky, then it's a 'geostationary' orbit.
No. The plane of any satellite orbit has to include the center of the earth, so the ground-track of the orbit would be great circle on the earth if the planet didn't rotate. Another way to visualize it: For every point in a satellite orbit that's north of the equator, there has to be a point south of the equator. (Technically, this is only true for circular orbits, but conceptually it's a good way to get the point across.)
Yes this is called Geosynchronous Orbit. This is when a satellite is in orbit but never moves in relation to its point on Earth.
A geostationary orbit is when a satellite orbits at the same speed as the Earth's rotation, allowing it to remain fixed above a specific point on the Earth's equator. This type of orbit is often used for communication satellites because they can maintain a constant connection with a specific location on Earth.
No satellites stays exactly still as they could not remain in orbit, but probably you are meaning a geostationary satellite. The orbit of these satellites matches the speed of the earth turning underneath them, so they remain above the same geographical point on the earth.
A geostationary orbit is an orbit of the Earth that is circular, over the equator, and at the right distance to have a period of 24 hours. A satellite in such an orbit appears to hang motionless, always at the same point in the sky Anything else is a non-geostationary orbit. A satellite in one of those appears to move in the sky, so that if you want to communicate with it, you need a movable dish.
A satellite is considered to be in geostationary orbit when it stays in a fixed position above a specific point on Earth's surface. It orbits at the same rate as the Earth's rotation, which allows it to remain stationary relative to the ground below. Geostationary satellites are commonly used for communication and weather monitoring purposes.
A geosynchronous orbits refers to the orbit of a satellite that matches the rotation of the earth, allowing it to remain above the same line of longitude. The satellite may still move north and south but not east or west. A geostationary orbit is a specific type of geosynchronous orbit directly above the equator. This allows the satellite to remain completely stationary over a fixed point on the earth's surface.
In geosynchronous orbit, it's always somewhere over the same meridian of longitude.In geostationary orbit, it's always over the same point on the equator.
Apogee is the point at which a satellite in an elliptical orbit is At its apogee, the satellite travels slower than at any other point in its orbit.
Geostationary is the moving orbit in the plane of the equator. Geostationary satellites are 22,300 miles above the Earths surface, and remain stationary at a fixed point. Weather and communication satellites are examples of geostationary satellites.
A Geostationary orbit - it means that the satellite will always stay above the same point on Earth. Hope that helps