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

There’s only one spot out there where the speed at which the object is falling is perfectly aligned with the speed of the rotation of the earth. This is geosynchronous orbit. It’s no different from any other or it except for this matching of the earths rotation.