A geostationary satellite orbits the earth in: a) 24 hours b) 12 hours c) 48 hours d) 72 hours<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The correct answer and explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The correct answer is a) 24 hours<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A geostationary satellite orbits the Earth once every 24 hours, which matches the Earth’s rotation period. This unique synchronization allows the satellite to stay fixed over one point on the Earth’s surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To understand why a geostationary satellite has this orbital period, we need to consider the mechanics of orbital motion. A satellite in orbit around the Earth is subject to the force of gravity, which pulls it towards the Earth. However, the satellite also moves forward in its orbit with a certain velocity, creating a balance between the gravitational pull and the centrifugal force due to its motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For a geostationary satellite, the key feature is its orbital altitude. These satellites are positioned at an altitude of about 35,786 kilometers above the Earth’s equator. At this altitude, the satellite\u2019s orbital velocity and the Earth\u2019s rotational velocity are perfectly matched. This means the satellite completes one orbit every 24 hours, exactly the same time it takes the Earth to complete a full rotation on its axis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The importance of a 24-hour orbital period is that it allows the satellite to maintain a constant position relative to the Earth\u2019s surface. This is particularly useful for communication, weather, and surveillance satellites, which need to cover specific areas continuously without needing to track or reposition themselves. As a result, geostationary satellites are extremely valuable in providing uninterrupted services for telecommunications and weather monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, a geostationary satellite’s 24-hour orbit ensures its ability to stay in a fixed location relative to the Earth’s surface, making it an essential tool for global communications and weather forecasting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A geostationary satellite orbits the earth in: a) 24 hours b) 12 hours c) 48 hours d) 72 hours The correct answer and explanation is: The correct answer is a) 24 hours. A geostationary satellite orbits the Earth once every 24 hours, which matches the Earth’s rotation period. This unique synchronization allows the satellite to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247100\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}