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Can a satellite "orbit" so that it imitates a star? Or would it have to "stand still" out there, which would make it fall back to earth?
by brock_r 11y ago
Can a satellite "orbit" so that it imitates a star?
Or would it have to "stand still" out there, which would make it fall back to earth?
- sounds 11y agoYou're suggesting we fake a signal? Technically, a satellite could be parked in a Lagrange Point. But the signal would have to be very, very convincing because there will be many, many very smart people looking at it.
- brock_r 11y agoBut wouldn't a Lagrange point satellite appear to move in a completely un-star-like manner over the course of weeks and months?
- dysfunction 11y agoA satellite can appear to "stand still" from the perspective of an observer on the ground, so long as it orbits at the right altitude/speed (speed and altitude of an orbit are proportional); the satellite's orbital period just has to be exactly a day long. For Earth, that altitude is about 42,000km up. However, it would still be easily determined to be a nearby satellite as opposed to a distant star by triangulation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosynchronous_orbit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosynchronous_orbit
- brock_r 11y agoBut the stars don't stand still with respect to an observer on the ground.