Earth's Satellites

 Earth's Satellites

A heavenly body that revolves around the earth in a circular orbit is called
an earth satellite. For example, the moon is the earth's satellite that revolves
around the earth in a circular orbit of radius 3.84 X 10 km. The moon takes
about 27.3 days to move once round the earth. The earth's satellites are of two
opes natural satellites and artificial satellites.
Natural Satellite: It is a naturally formed body moving around the earth.
The moon is the only natural satellite of the earth.
Artificial Satellite: It is a man-made body moving around the earth in an
orbit. When a body is taken to a certain height above the earth and given
the necessary centripetal force, the body keeps on moving around the earth and
becomes an artificial satellite.
Nowadays, artificial satellites find widespread applications in the
recent world. The following are the uses of artificial satellites:
Artificial satellites are widely used in telecommunication.

• They are used in studying the atmosphere near the earth surface.
• They are used to forecast weather.
• They are used to transmit radio and video signals.
• They are used to know the shape and size of the earth.
• They are used in space flights.
• They are used to study the radiations coming from the sun and the outer space