How does a geostationary satellite remain over the same spot on Earth?
In: Planetary Science
Imagine skateboarding east down a straight street at 10mph with a 10mph tailwind (so there is no wind resistance). If you throw a tennis ball straight up, it will already be traveling 10mph east like you so even though you threw it straight up, it will arc and land in your hand again further down the road. Now imagine that the road isn’t straight, but a sphere. There is a height and speed the ball can travel where the tennis ball falls at the same arc as the curvature and will appear to hover above you as you skateboard around the sphere at 10mph. That’s orbit.
FYI when rockets launch payload to orbit, very little energy is spent getting the rocket to move straight up. Most of the energy is to get the rocket moving horizontal to the surface (often east) to find this orbital path.
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