To see the relative speed of orbits and possibly melt your browser , press Q and then the spacebar. The satellites include:. The largest private satellite constellation belongs to Iridium Communications, which has 71 satellites in orbit. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Quick Links.
All Junk Not Junk. All Sm Med Lg. Welcome to Satellite Map. This application maps the current location of about 19, manmade objects orbiting the Earth.
Finally, many high Earth orbiting satellites monitor solar activity. At the Lagrange points, the pull of gravity from the Earth cancels out the pull of gravity from the Sun. Anything placed at these points will feel equally pulled toward the Earth and the Sun and will revolve with the Earth around the Sun. Of the five Lagrange points in the Sun-Earth system, only the last two, called L4 and L5, are stable. A satellite at the other three points is like a ball balanced at the peak of a steep hill: any slight perturbation will push the satellite out of the Lagrange point like the ball rolling down the hill.
Satellites at these three points need constant adjustments to stay balanced and in place. Satellites at the last two Lagrange points are more like a ball in a bowl: even if perturbed, they return to the Lagrange point. The first Lagrange point is located between the Earth and the Sun, giving satellites at this point a constant view of the Sun.
The second Lagrange point is about the same distance from the Earth, but is located behind the Earth. Earth is always between the second Lagrange point and the Sun. Since the Sun and Earth are in a single line, satellites at this location only need one heat shield to block heat and light from the Sun and Earth. The third Lagrange point is opposite the Earth on the other side of the Sun so that the Sun is always between it and Earth.
A satellite in this position would not be able to communicate with Earth. Closer to the Earth, satellites in a medium Earth orbit move more quickly. Two medium Earth orbits are notable: the semi-synchronous orbit and the Molniya orbit. The semi-synchronous orbit is a near-circular orbit low eccentricity 26, kilometers from the center of the Earth about 20, kilometers above the surface. A satellite at this height takes 12 hours to complete an orbit.
As the satellite moves, the Earth rotates underneath it. In hours, the satellite crosses over the same two spots on the equator every day.
This orbit is consistent and highly predictable. The second common medium Earth orbit is the Molniya orbit. Invented by the Russians, the Molniya orbit works well for observing high latitudes. The Molniya orbit offers a useful alternative. The Molniya orbit is highly eccentric: the satellite moves in an extreme ellipse with the Earth close to one edge.
As it moves away, its speed slows, so it spends more time at the top of its orbit farthest from the Earth. A satellite in a Molniya orbit takes 12 hours to complete its orbit, but it spends about two-thirds of that time over one hemisphere.
Like a semi-synchronous orbit, a satellite in the Molniya orbit passes over the same path every 24 hours. This type of orbit is useful for communications in the far north or south.
Most scientific satellites and many weather satellites are in a nearly circular, low Earth orbit. Therefore, it has a relatively low inclination 35 degrees , staying near the equator. In this highly inclined orbit, the satellite moves around the Earth from pole to pole, taking about 99 minutes to complete an orbit.
During one half of the orbit, the satellite views the daytime side of the Earth. At the pole, satellite crosses over to the nighttime side of Earth.
As the satellites orbit, the Earth turns underneath. By the time the satellite crosses back into daylight, it is over the region adjacent to the area seen in its last orbit. In a hour period, polar orbiting satellites will view most of the Earth twice: once in daylight and once in darkness.
Just as the geosynchronous satellites have a sweet spot over the equator that lets them stay over one spot on Earth, the polar-orbiting satellites have a sweet spot that allows them to stay in one time.
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