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1 vote
What deos it mean for a satellite to be in geosynchronous orbit

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User Ballon
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1 Answer

6 votes
It means that the satellite's orbital period is equal to the Earth's rotation period ... roughly 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds ... so that the satellite always stays over the same longitude.

IF that satellite's orbit has also been carefully placed over the equator, THEN the satellite is in a 'geostationary' orbit. It appears motionless in the sky, and can be used to sell 900 channels of TV to people with little dishes that they never need to move.
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User Lucas Oliveira
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