Geostationary satellites are placed at .......................... altitude from the earth's surface.
MH SET - 2021, SET Exam - 2021,
Answer: C
Geostationary satellites orbit at about 36,000 km.
A satellite appears fixed over one point on the equator only if its orbital period equals the Earth's rotation period, one sidereal day (about 23 h 56 min). Kepler's third law fixes the orbital radius for that period at about 42,164 km from the Earth's centre, which is about 35,786 km above the surface, usually rounded to 36,000 km.
At 26,000 or 30,000 km a satellite would orbit faster than the Earth turns and drift eastward across the sky; at 44,000 km it would be slower and drift westward.
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