Question

A satellite in geostationary orbit is used for:
A. weather monitoring
B. astronomical research
C. TV broadcasting
D. all of the above

Answer 1

Hint:A satellite is defined as a body that is revolving around the planet in a fixed orbit. There are two kinds of satellites: Natural and Artificial.

The Natural satellites are called as Moons of the planet while Artificial satellites are man-made and introduced into the space at a definite orbit, one of which is called the geostationary orbit

Complete step-by-step answer:
A geostationary orbit, also known as the geosynchronous equatorial orbit, is a circular geosynchronous orbit which is at approximately 36,000 kilometres above Earth's equator.

The period of rotation of the satellite in this orbit is the same as that of the Earth. Hence, an observer of the geostationary satellite from the Earth, feels that the satellite is stationary while the satellite is moving around the orbit at the same speed as that of Earth. Hence, this orbit is also called the geosynchronous orbit.

Here are some of the uses of the geosynchronous satellites:
1. Broadcasting
At a given location on the Earth, the geostationary satellite will be stationary. This can be used for bouncing the signals from one part of the Earth to another without worrying about the movement of the satellite. This is very useful for one-sided transfer of signal in cases like TV and radio broadcasting.

2. Weather monitoring
Since the relative location of a geostationary satellite for a place on Earth is fixed, it is helpful to obtain the weather data of the particular region such as cloud cover, cloud spread and winds over the place. It is as useful as placing a stationary camera over the place which will record all the weather events of the place.

3. Astronomical research
For the same reasons as stated above, the geostationary satellites can be better employed to study the relative positions of planets and stars for research given that the position of the satellite for a given geographical area is fixed.

Hence, the correct option is Option D.

Note: The instruments that are fit on the satellites to carry out the specific tasks such as broadcasting, meteorological analysis etc. are called payloads. The payloads are the functional unit of the satellite which serve the function that the satellite is meant for. The different kinds of payloads are: Transponder, Altimeter, Infra-red cameras, etc.