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What are the main differences between geostationary orbit and polar orbit?

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A polar orbit is an Orbit in which a Satellite passes above or nearly above both of the Geographical poles of the body (usually a planet such as the Earth, but possibly another body such as the Sun being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an Inclination of (or very close to) 90 degrees to the Equator. Except in the special case of a polar Geosynchronous orbit, a satellite in a polar orbit will pass over the equator at a different Longitude on each of its orbits.
A geostationary orbit (GEO) is a circular orbit directly above the Earth's Equator From the ground, a geostationary object appears motionless in the sky and is therefore the Orbit of most interest to operators of Communication Satellites. Their orbital periods (time taken to revolve around earth) is exactly the same as the planet's (such as Earth's) rotational period. The Geosynchronous orbit is approximately 36,000 km above Earth's surface.

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Salil91

First answer by Bluemoon37. Last edit by RUClimate. Contributor trust: 332 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 26 [recommend question].

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