Q14 of 81 Page 223

Is it necessary for the plane of the orbit of a satellite to pass through the Centre of the earth?

In order to enable evolution of an object around a massive body, the body needs to be present at one of the foci of the elliptical orbits. This is a direct conclusion of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Hence, the plane should also pass through the center of the body, in this case, Earth.


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12

If the radius of the earth decrease by 1% without changing its mass, will the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of the earth increase or decrease? If so, by what per cent?

 13

A nut becomes loose and gets detached from a satellite revolving around the earth. Will it land on the earth? If yes, where will it land? If no, how can an astronaut make it land on the earth?

 15

Consider earth satellites in circular orbits. A geostationary satellite must be at a height of about 36000 Km from the earth’s surface. Will any satellite moving at this height be a geostationary satellite? Will any satellite moving at this height have a time period of 24 hours?

 16

No part of India is situated on the equator. Is it possible to have a geostationary satellite which always remains over New Delhi?