Re: How about 4?
Posted by Dale on Mar 13, 2002 at 10:44
(204.212.222.27)Re: How about 4? (Bill Gill)
I agree that there are many people who don’t distinguish between the two. So let’s see what NASA has to say.
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/rocket_sci/satellites/geo-high.html
A satellite in geosynchronous orbit circles the earth once each day. To stay over the same spot on earth, a geostationary satellite also has to be directly above the equator. All geostationary orbits are geosynchronous but not all geosynchronous orbits are geostationary. Geostationary orbits are far more useful for the majority of the population of the world because you can point an antenna in a fixed direction to see them but, since they are limited to the equatorial plane, they can not communicate to the poles. Therefore if we assume that Rose really meant geostationary when she said geosynchronous (which would have been understandable considering the popular confusion) then the problem would have had no solution unless the poles were not considered part of the universe which would have had to receive the signal.
Follow Ups:
- Thanks for the clarification Amaranth Rose 13/3 17:53 (2)
- Re: Thanks for the clarification bobbapink 13/3 18:26 (1)
- Station---what? Amaranth Rose 14/3 13:43 (0)