Like distance from the Earth. And do some of them “sit” in one place, like always over North America?

  • 📛Maven@lemmy.sdf.org
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    8 months ago

    It should be noted that geosynchronous and geostationary are not the same. Geosynchronous does mean that it orbits the earth at 1 rotation per day, but depending on inclination and/or eccentricity, it doesn’t stay still, it will draw out a slow loop or figure-8 from any given observer’s perspective. The latter thing you’re describing is a geostationary orbit; satellites in a geosynchronous orbit above the equatorial plane, with 0 inclination and eccentricity, stay at exactly the same spot in the sky at all times, and are said to be geostationary, or to be in GEO (rather than GSO).