... Kepler's 3rd Law . 21a.Applying 3rd Law . ... Besides the Moon, Earth now has many artificial satellites, put up by us earthlings for a variety of purposes. ... where for a satellite orbitingEarth at distance of one Earth radius R E , the constant k equals k=gR E 2 . ... The velocity for a circular Earthorbit at any other distance r is similarly calculated, but one must take into account that the force of gravity is weaker at greater distances, by a factor (R E / r) 2 . ...
One possible application of a solar sail is a spacecraft to warn Earth of approaching interplanetary disturbances and shocks. ... Spacecraft that can provide such a warning are currently stationed at (or near) the Lagrangian L1 point , between the Earth and the Sun--at about 4 times the distance of the moon and 1/100 times that of the Sun. ... Because of the greater distance from Earth, the Earth's pull there is weaker, not enough to make the spacecraft match the Earth's motion around the Sun. ...
Phoebe . Saturn IX . Phoebe [FEE-bee] is the last of the known satellites of Saturn, at a distance of 12.952 million kilometers (8 million miles). Phoebe orbits Saturn in a retrograde direction (opposite to the direction of the other satellites' orbits) in a plane much closer to the ecliptic than to Saturn's equatorial plane. ... Scientists believe that Phoebe may be a captured asteroid with a composition unmodified since the time it was formed in the outer Solar System . ...