UNIVERSE
SATELLITESICY BODIES
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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nearest Earth
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farthest from Earth
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everywhere along its orbit
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None of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -In an elliptical orbit, the satellite’s velocity changes depending on where it is in its orbital path. When the satellite is in the part of its orbit closest to the Earth, it moves faster because the Earth’s gravitational pull is stronger. The satellite is moving the fastest at the low point of an elliptical orbit.
Detailed explanation-2: -An Earth-orbiting satellite’s motion is mostly controlled by Earth’s gravity. As satellites get closer to Earth, the pull of gravity gets stronger, and the satellite moves more quickly.
Detailed explanation-3: -The point of greatest separation is aphelion, hence by Kepler’s Second Law, a planet is moving fastest when it is at perihelion and slowest at aphelion. Kepler’s Third Law: the squares of the orbital periods of the planets are directly proportional to the cubes of the semi-major axes of their orbits.