eli5: I’ve heard orbit described as continuously falling past or missing the Earth, how then do objects in geosynchronous orbit above a single point not fall out of the sky?

Question

eli5: I’ve heard orbit described as continuously falling past or missing the Earth, how then do objects in geosynchronous orbit above a single point not fall out of the sky?

In: 2204

Answer 1

The earth is spinning on it’s axis. Like a basketball on someone’s finger. That’s why we have days. Our point on the earth goes round and round, passing under the sun and then to the backside into night.

Since WE are spinning, any object that is “hanging” over a single spot on the planet must be circling around the earth at that same speed. The “single point” on the earth is moving, and so we know the satellite is also moving.

Geosynchronous orbit is the distance from the earth, a little over 22,000 miles, at which the speed the satellite is traveling in order to “fall/miss” in a stable orbit is the same speed as it needs to travel to keep a steady position over a point on the spinning earth.