Scribd
Upload
83 views

What Is A Satellite?: Why Are Satellites Important?

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union in 1957. Satellites orbit Earth through a balance of centrifugal force and Earth's gravitational pull. They come in different shapes and sizes but most have an antenna to send/receive signals and a power source like solar panels. Satellites provide views of Earth and space not possible from the surface, helping with weather prediction, communications, GPS, and scientific research.

Uploaded by

mica
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
83 views

What Is A Satellite?: Why Are Satellites Important?

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union in 1957. Satellites orbit Earth through a balance of centrifugal force and Earth's gravitational pull. They come in different shapes and sizes but most have an antenna to send/receive signals and a power source like solar panels. Satellites provide views of Earth and space not possible from the surface, helping with weather prediction, communications, GPS, and scientific research.

Uploaded by

mica
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

What Is a Satellite?

A satellite is a moon, planet or machine that orbits a planet or star. For example, Earth is a
satellite because it orbits the sun. Likewise, the moon is a satellite because it orbits Earth.
Usually, the word "satellite" refers to a machine that is launched into space and moves around
Earth or another body in space.

Earth and the moon are examples of natural satellites. Thousands of artificial, or man-made,
satellites orbit Earth. Some take pictures of the planet that help meteorologists predict weather
and track hurricanes. Some take pictures of other planets, the sun, black holes, dark matter or
faraway galaxies. These pictures help scientists better understand the solar system and universe.

Still other satellites are used mainly for communications, such as beaming TV signals and phone
calls around the world. A group of more than 20 satellites make up the Global Positioning
System, or GPS. If you have a GPS receiver, these satellites can help figure out your exact
location.

Why Are Satellites Important?


The bird's-eye view that satellites have allows them to see large areas of Earth at one time. This
ability means satellites can collect more data, more quickly, than instruments on the ground.

Satellites also can see into space better than telescopes at Earth's surface. That's because satellites
fly above the clouds, dust and molecules in the atmosphere that can block the view from ground
level.

Before satellites, TV signals didn't go very far. TV signals only travel in straight lines. So they
would quickly trail off into space instead of following Earth's curve. Sometimes mountains or
tall buildings would block them. Phone calls to faraway places were also a problem. Setting up
telephone wires over long distances or underwater is difficult and costs a lot.

With satellites, TV signals and phone calls are sent upward to a satellite. Then, almost instantly,
the satellite can send them back down to different locations on Earth.

What Are the Parts of a Satellite?


Satellites come in many shapes and sizes. But most have at least two parts in common - an
antenna and a power source. The antenna sends and receives information, often to and from
Earth. The power source can be a solar panel or battery. Solar panels make power by turning
sunlight into electricity.

Many NASA satellites carry cameras and scientific sensors. Sometimes these instruments point
toward Earth to gather information about its land, air and water. Other times they face toward
space to collect data from the solar system and universe.
How Do Satellites Orbit Earth?
Most satellites are launched into space on rockets. A satellite orbits Earth when its speed is
balanced by the pull of Earth's gravity. Without this balance, the satellite would fly in a straight
line off into space or fall back to Earth. Satellites orbit Earth at different heights, different speeds
and along different paths. The two most common types of orbit are "geostationary" (jee-oh-
STAY-shun-air-ee) and "polar."

A geostationary satellite travels from west to east over the equator. It moves in the same
direction and at the same rate Earth is spinning. From Earth, a geostationary satellite looks like it
is standing still since it is always above the same location.

Polar-orbiting satellites travel in a north-south direction from pole to pole. As Earth spins
underneath, these satellites can scan the entire globe, one strip at a time.

What Was the First Satellite in Space?


Sputnik 1 was the first satellite in space. The Soviet Union launched it in 1957.

Characteristics of Stars
The five characteristics used to classify stars are color, temperature, size, composition,
and brightness.
A stars color depends on its temperature.
Super Giants are very large stars, and use their hydrogen very fast and die young. They
will eventually die and explode into a supernova or nova, and may become a black hole.

Super Giants are very bright, but cooler on the surface


Majority of stars are main sequence stars, like our sun. They convert hydrogen into
helium in their cores, releasing a large amount of energy.
When a star runs out of hydrogen in its core, fusion stops and the star increases in size
up to 100 times
Most stars are about 73% Hydrogen, 25% Helium, and 2% other elements
Cooler stars are redder, while the hottest stars are blue-white
Astronomers use and instrument called a spectrograph to determine elements in stars.
Apparent brightness is its brightness as seen from earth.
Absolute brightness is the brightness the star would be if it were at a standard distance
from earth.

You might also like