Help???????

Question

Is the Earth the sun's satellite? Is the Earth a satellite?

not homework.......

rather than delete the question I will leave it to enlighten others....


http://www.seds.org/billa/tnp/sol.html

The Sun's satellites
There are nine planets and a large number of smaller objects orbiting the Sun. (Exactly which bodies should be classified as planets and which as "smaller objects" has been the source of some controversy, but in the end it is really only a matter of definition.)

Distance Radius Mass
Planet (000 km) (km) (kg) Discoverer Date
--------- --------- ------ ------- ---------- -----
Mercury 57,910 2439 3.30e23
Venus 108,200 6052 4.87e24
Earth 149,600 6378 5.98e24
Mars 227,940 3397 6.42e23
Jupiter 778,330 71492 1.90e27
Saturn 1,426,940 60268 5.69e26
Uranus 2,870,990 25559 8.69e25 Herschel 1781
Neptune 4,497,070 24764 1.02e26 Galle 1846
Pluto 5,913,520 1160 1.31e22 Tombaugh 1930

Answer 1

From dictionary.com:

Satellite:

1) [Astronomy]. A celestial body that orbits a planet; a moon.

Using that definition, then no, Earth is not a satellite, since a satellite, whether natural or artificial, must orbit a planet.

3) One who attends a powerful dignitary; a minion.

Now, by that definition, it's possible, since the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit around it.

It's really a matter of semantics. However, the deciding factor is that objects that orbit the sun, planets, asteroids, and comets are not considered satellites by astronomers.

Answer 2

Technically, yes. But planets are a specific kind of satellite, and it's more precise to call earth a planet. So satellite is not common usage for planets. If you look up the definition of "satellite" only a few sources include the "around a star" definition.

Answer 3

If two objects are sufficiently similar in mass, they are generally referred to as a binary system rather than a primary object and satellite; the general criterion for an object to be a satellite is that the center of mass of the two objects is inside the primary object, so yes, you can call the Earth a satellite.

Answer 4

Since we live on the Earth, we don't consider it a satellite. It's our point of reference.
Using the Sun or other larger body as a reference, i.e., galaxy, it would be.

Answer 5

Earth is a PLANET & not a SATELLITE !!!

Answer 6

earth is a PLANET ...and NOT a satellite ........