There is an orbit around the Earth called the Low Earth orbit (LEO) with an altitude between 160-2000 km. This is the lowest altitude at which an object can go on orbiting around the Earth.
Geostationary Orbits. While geosynchronous satellites can have any inclination, the key difference to geostationary orbit is the fact that they lie on the same plane as the equator. While the geostationary orbit lies on the same plane as the equator, the geosynchronous satellites has a different inclination.
An orbit is a regular, repeating path that an object in space takes around another one. An object in an orbit is called a satellite.
So really, a satellites ability to maintain its orbit comes down to a balance between two factors: its velocity (or the speed at which it would travel in a straight line), and the gravitational pull between the satellite and the planet it orbits.
A medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite is one with an orbit within the range from a few hundred miles to a few thousand miles above the earth's surface. Satellites of this type orbit higher than low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, but lower than geostationary satellites. Other MEO satellites revolve in elongated orbits.
Satellites are able to orbit around the planet because they are locked into speeds that are fast enough to defeat the downward pull of gravity. A satellite maintains its orbit by balancing two factors: its velocity (the speed it takes to travel in a straight line) and the gravitational pull that Earth has on it.
Altitude classifications
Medium Earth orbit (MEO): Geocentric orbits ranging in altitude from 2,000 km (1,200 mi) – 35,786 km (22,236 mi).What causes an orbit to happen? Orbits are the result of a perfect balance between the forward motion of a body in space, such as a planet or moon, and the pull of gravity on it from another body in space, such as a large planet or star.
It is known that the Earth's orbit around the sun changes shape every 100,000 years. The orbit becomes either more round or more elliptical at these intervals. The shape of the orbit is known as its "eccentricity." A related aspect is the 41,000-year cycle in the tilt of the Earth's axis.
People with this hobby are variously called satellite watchers, trackers, spotters, observers, etc. Since satellites outside Earth's shadow reflect sunlight, those especially in low Earth orbit may visibly glint (or "flare") as they traverse the observer's sky, usually during twilight.
Outer space does not begin at a definite altitude above the Earth's surface. However, the Kármán line, an altitude of 100 km (62 mi) above sea level, is conventionally used as the start of outer space in space treaties and for aerospace records keeping.
However, the Greek equivalent to Earth is Gaia – terra mater – mother Earth, and Roman equivalent was Tellus – the fertile soil.
High earth orbitFrom geostationary to the moon, 363,104 km out, but that's not even earth's most distant orbiter: A NASA satellite studying solar wind has the highest point in its orbit at 470,310 km—and it's also the lowest-flying satellite at the other end of its elliptical orbit, coming as low as 186 km.
Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle. It is elliptical, or slightly oval-shaped. This means there is one point in the orbit where Earth is closest to the Sun, and another where Earth is farthest from the Sun.
At an altitude of around 6,200 miles (10,000 km) above the surface of the earth the final particles of our atmosphere are left and the absolute vacuum of space begins. However at 62 miles (100 km) you go beyond something called the Karman Line.
Currently there are over 2218 artificial satellites orbiting the Earth.
The definition of an orbit is a circular shape, the rotation of one full circle or a range of experience. The path the earth takes around the sun is an example of the earth's orbit. The experiences and actions of one person during a period of time is an example of his orbit.
Satellites in geostationary orbit rotate with the Earth directly above the equator, continuously staying above the same spot.
A geosynchronous orbit is a high Earth orbit that allows satellites to match Earth's rotation. Located at 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth's equator, this position is a valuable spot for monitoring weather, communications and surveillance.
