Satellite
Satellite
The concept
of satellite , which comes from the Latin satelles , can be
used to name two astronomical objects with very different characteristics.
It can be,
on the one hand, a celestial body that is qualified as opaque, since
it can only shine when reflecting the light that comes from the sun. These
satellites have the peculiarity of turning around a planet .
It is
possible to speak, on the other hand, of artificial satellites . In
this case, they are devices that trace orbits around our planet or another, and
that aim to move equipment that allows collecting and retransmitting information .
In the case
of artificial satellites we can establish that there are several types of
satellites depending on the missions or the areas in which they work. In
this way, for example, we can talk about the so-called communications
satellites that are basically used to exercise as if they were antennas in
areas that have little development or are very broad.
In this
sense we should highlight the Telstar 1, which is the first of this type that
was placed in orbit, it did so in 1962. It should also be emphasized that this
class of satellites are used, among other things, to be able to carry out the
broadcast of television signals.
Another type
of artificial satellites are the so-called meteorological that, as its name
suggests, are used to know and study both the climate that exists on our planet
and the weather there is in it. Thus, thanks to those can be glimpsed
clouds, pollution or even the evolution of what is the ozone layer that exists
in Antarctica.
And to these
two kinds of artificial satellites it is inevitable that we add a third
one. In particular, we are referring to those known as spy satellites that
are used primarily in the military or intelligence sector. And it is that
these allow to obtain secret and very important information in tasks of
communication and observation as, they can be, the interception of signals in
matters of attack.
It is
important to note that the Earth has a single natural satellite :
the Moon , which has a diameter of 3,476 kilometers and is 384,400
kilometers away from our planet. The natural satellites of any planet, by
extension, are often referred to as moons .
Although, in
general, we speak of a primary planet (in this case, the Earth )
and the satellite that orbits around it (the Moon ), there are cases
in which the planet and the satellite have similar masses. The
specialists, before this, speak of binary systems . That happens
with Pluto and the satellite that receives the name of Charon .
The
satellites of the Solar System can be classified into co-orbital
satellites (if they travel in the same orbit), asteroidal satellites (found
around asteroids), shepherd satellites (they allow to keep rings in
their position) or Trojan satellites (a certain planet and a certain
satellite also have other satellites in some Lagrange points ).
As for artificial
satellites , they could be said to be ships sent into space by a launch
vehicle. Once they fulfill their function, they may remain in orbit and
become space junk.
Finally, at
a general level, a satellite is a human being or something that is under
the influence of another or that directly has a dependence on it.
