You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
This lesson covers natural and artificial satellites, their orbits, and their uses, as required by the AQA GCSE Physics specification (4.8.1). This is a Physics-only topic. You need to understand the difference between natural and artificial satellites, the two main types of artificial satellite orbits (polar and geostationary), and how satellites are used for communication, observation, and navigation.
A satellite is any object that orbits a larger body due to gravitational attraction. Satellites can be natural (occurring naturally) or artificial (made and launched by humans).
| Type | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Natural satellite | A celestial body that orbits a planet or other body naturally | The Moon (orbits Earth), Titan (orbits Saturn), Phobos and Deimos (orbit Mars), Europa (orbits Jupiter) |
| Artificial satellite | A human-made object placed into orbit around Earth or another body | International Space Station (ISS), GPS satellites, weather satellites, Hubble Space Telescope |
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. Key facts:
Subscribe to continue reading
Get full access to this lesson and all 10 lessons in this course.