Notes

In "What is a Satellite?" I learned that:


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.

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.

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.

Satellites looking toward Earth provide information about clouds, oceans, land and ice.

Satellites that face toward space watch for dangerous rays coming from the sun, asteroids and comets, the history of stars, and the origin of planets.

In "What is an Orbit?" I learned that:

An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another one. This includes planets, comets, asteroids and other objects in the solar system orbit the sun

All orbits are elliptical, which means they are an ellipse, similar to an oval.

An object's momentum and the force of gravity have to be balanced for an orbit to happen. If the forward momentum of one object is too great, it will speed past and not enter into orbit. If momentum is too small, the object will be pulled down and crash. When these forces are balanced, the object is always falling toward the planet, but because it's moving sideways fast enough, it never hits the planet.

In both articles, I learned that:

Both explains that an object in an orbit are called satellites.

Both talked about geostationary and polar orbits above Earth.