Q18 of 81 Page 223

Two satellites going in equatorial plane have almost radii. As seen from the earth one moves from east to west and other moves from west to east. Will they have the same time period as seen from the earth? If not which one will have less time period?

In these two cases, the satellite moving east to west (opposite to earth’s rotation) will have a lesser time period, as its relative orbital velocity is higher. So, they will have different time periods.


More from this chapter

All 81 →
16

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

 17

As the earth rotates about the axis, a person living on in his house at the equator goes in a circular orbit of radius equal to the radius of the earth. Why does he/she not feel weightless as a satellite passenger does?

 19

A spacecraft consumes more fuel in going from earth to the moon than it takes for a return trip. Comment on this statement.

 1

The acceleration of moon with respect to earth is 0.0027ms-2and the acceleration of an apple falling on the earth surface is about 10ms-2. Assume that the radius of the moon is one fourth of the earth’s radius. If the moon is stopped for an instant and then released, it will fall towards the earth. The initial acceleration of the moon towards the earth will be