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

Because the Earth is rotating. Geosynchronous just means orbiting as fast as the Earth rotates, or one revolution every 24~ hours. The satellite is still “falling sideways” as they say, just at a speed that matches the rotation of the Earth.