orbital mechnics?

Question

Please explain to me when you see the orbital pass of the shuttle or a satellite plotted on a world map it shows the path around the earth as a series of loops across the equater. it loops to a certain point south and then loops back to the same distance north. Is this due the earth's rotation?

Answer 1

It is due to the fact that all orbits are great circles. Flat world maps distort most great circles into looping shapes, but if you plot one of those orbits on a globe, it will make perfect sense to you.

Answer 2

Take a piece of string and wrap it around a globe (if you can find one these days!). Hold the ends together tight. You have to get the center of the loop directly over the center of the globe, but the loop can be at any angle to the equator of the globe. That represents an orbital track if the earth didn't rotate. Notice just as much string will be north of the equator as is south of it. Try to picture, then, if the sat goes around the loop every 80 minutes while the globe spins every 24 hours (the string not turning with the globe).

Answer 3

Satellites orbit Earth in ellipses.

There's a specific orbit which keeps a satellite in a fixed position relative Earth known as geosynchronous orbit. Those satellites don't have such a curve.

Everything else, though, does, because they orbit at a speed different Earth's rotational velocity. Because they move faster than Earth, their relative position to earth will also change. Those curves are the calculated positions for the satellite.

Answer 4

You can ask it to Physics teachers or ur colleges.

The velocity of aritifial satellite is, v=root over GM/R+h

The velocity of AS may be same like earth rotation velocity. I depends on the purpose of work. There is also another SAT like Geostationary stallite.

Answer 5

sattelite goes in circles around earth.
when they make rectangular map of round earth, these circles become loops that you see.