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

Objects in Geosynchronous orbit are *still falling*, they’re just falling at the *same speed as the earth is rotating*.

Since the earth can more or less be thought of as a sphere, therefore the effect it has on gravity is still a sphere, no matter which way it’s facing. In the same way that driving on the outside of a turn on a racetrack is slower than driving on the inside, the further away you are from earth the easier it is to continuously “miss,” the earth as you fall, allowing it to keep pace with the speed the earth is spinning.