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What Are Satellites ?

Satellites are objects that orbit Earth or other astronomical bodies. Natural satellites include Earth's moon and planets orbiting stars. Thousands of artificial satellites launched by humans orbit Earth and are used for purposes like communication, navigation, weather monitoring, television/radio transmission, environmental monitoring, and scientific research. There are many types of satellites serving different functions such as communication satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and more.

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Amrit Kaur
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304 views

What Are Satellites ?

Satellites are objects that orbit Earth or other astronomical bodies. Natural satellites include Earth's moon and planets orbiting stars. Thousands of artificial satellites launched by humans orbit Earth and are used for purposes like communication, navigation, weather monitoring, television/radio transmission, environmental monitoring, and scientific research. There are many types of satellites serving different functions such as communication satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and more.

Uploaded by

Amrit Kaur
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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what are satellites ?

A satellite is a moon, planet or machine that


orbits a planet or star. For example, Earth is a
satellite because it orbits the sun. Likewise, the
moon is a satellite because it orbits Earth.
Usually, the word "satellite" refers to a machine
that is launched into space and moves around
Earth or another body in space.
Earth and the moon are examples of natural
satellites. Thousands of artificial, or man-made,
satellites orbit Earth. Some take pictures of the
planet that help meteorologists predict weather
and track hurricanes. Some take pictures of other
planets, the sun, black holes, dark matter or
faraway galaxies. These pictures help scientists
better understand the solar system and universe.
There are many types of satellites such as
communication satellites, navigation satellites
and many more.

THE
USES
OF
SATELL
ITES

TELEVISION

Satellites send television signals


directly to homes, but they also
are the backbone of cable and network TV.

TELEPHONE

-Satellites provide in-flight phone communications on


airplanes, and are often the main conduit of voice
communication for rural areas and areas where phone
lines are damaged after a disaster.

NAVIGATIONS
-Satellite-based navigation systems like the Navstar
Global Positioning Systems (known colloquially as GPS)
enable anyone with a handheld receiver to determine
her location to within a few meters.

BUSINESS + FINANCE
-This is an important tool, allowing big manufacturing
companies and department stores to perform inventory
management, provide instant credit card authorization
and automated teller banking services to even small

towns, pay-at-the-pump gas at freeway gas stations,


and video conferencing for international corporations.

WEATHER
-Satellites provide meteorologists with the ability to see
weather on a global scale, allowing them to follow the
effects of phenomena like volcanic eruptions and
burning gas and oil fields, to the development of large
systems like hurricanes and El Nio.

CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENTAL


MONITORING
-Monitor ocean temperatures and prevailing currents
-Measure the changing sizes of glaciers

SAFETY
-Monitor ocean and wind currents as well as the extent
of forest fires, oil spills, and airborne pollution

LAND STEWARDSHIP
-Detect underground water and mineral sources
-Monitor the transfer of nutrients and contaminants
from land into waterways
Measure land and water temperatures, the growth of
algae in seas, and the erosion of topsoil from land.

DEVELOPMENT
-Provides remote populations access to education and
to medical expertise that would otherwise not reach
them

SPACE SCIENCE
-Satellite telescopes have been critical to
understanding phenomena like pulsars and black holes
as well as measuring the age of the universe. The
Hubble Space Telescope is arguably the most valuable
astronomical tool ever built!

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