from What Is a Satellite?
adapted from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
1 A satellite is a moon, planet or machine that orbits a planet or star. For example, Earth is a satellite because it orbits the sun; likewise, the moon is a satellite because it orbits Earth. Usually, the word "satellite" refers to a machine that is launched into space and moves around Earth or another body in space.
2 Earth and the moon are examples of natural satellites. Thousands of artificial, or man-made, satellites orbit Earth; some satellites take pictures of the planet that help meteorologists predict weather and track hurricanes, and others take pictures of other planets, the sun, black holes, dark matter or faraway galaxies. These pictures help scientists better understand the solar system and universe.
3 Still other satellites are used mainly for communications, such as beaming TV signals and phone calls around the world. A group of more than 20 satellites make up the Global Positioning System, or GPS. If you have a GPS receiver, these satellites can help figure out your exact location.
4 Most satellites are launched into space on rockets. A satellite orbits Earth when its speed is balanced by the pull of Earth's gravity; without this balance, the satellite would fly in a straight line off into space or fall back to Earth. Satellites orbit Earth at different heights, different speeds and along different paths. The two most common types of orbit are "geostationary" and "polar."
5 A geostationary satellite travels from west to east over the equator, and it moves in the same direction and at the same rate Earth is spinning. From Earth, a geostationary satellite looks like it is standing still since it is always above the same location.
Polar-orbiting satellites travel in a north-south direction from pole to pole, and as Earth spins underneath, these satellites can scan the entire globe, one strip at a time.
Drag each label to the correct location on the image.
Based on the passages, what information best fits in each blank space of the oral presentation outline?
On-board sensors detect cloud formation
land, and ocean temperatures
Used to identify tropical storms, hurricanes,
and severe weather
Used to enable phone calls around the world
Helps figure out your exact location when
using GPA receiver
On-board sensors detect cloud formation, land, and ocean temperatures.
Used to identify tropical storms, hurricanes, and severe weather.
Used to enable phone calls around the world.
Helps figure out your exact location when using a GPS receiver.