4 ms·
Satellites only need sufficient motion and gravity. They've orbited things that aren't quite round/spherical (asteroids and comets), and theoretically flat thin
by theandrewbailey 9y ago
Satellites only need sufficient motion and gravity. They've orbited things that aren't quite round/spherical (asteroids and comets), and theoretically flat things too, if we can find/build one big enough.
- mikeash 9y agoOrbits of nonspherical objects tend to be unstable (this is a significant effect for lunar orbits already) and the motion of the satellites would be completely different.
- roywiggins 9y agoIf a flat earth existed, our notions of gravity are definitely wrong, because a flat earth would probably quickly collapse into a lump- and the direction of gravity would point in a different direction as you walked towards the edge...
- mejari 9y agoTheir explanation for Earth's gravity is that the Earth is constantly accelerating "upward" at 8.9m/s/s. How would satellites orbit that without constant acceleration of their own?