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Muhammad Sabih
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why orbital velocity of a satellite is independent of mass?
Well, if the satellite's mass is large enough, it's not (independent of mass). For instance, the Moon.Muhammad Sabih said:why orbital velocity of a satellite is independent of mass?
Are you asserting that a small object in the same orbit as the Moon's would orbit at a different speed than the Moon?tfr000 said:Well, if the satellite's mass is large enough, it's not (independent of mass). For instance, the Moon.
However, if the satellite's mass is something like 1 ten-billionth of the mass of the body it's orbiting, and another satellite's mass is 5 ten-billionths, then you will see negligible difference in their motion about the body.
Well, yes. Newton says the force between them (the Earth and whatever) is proportional to the product of their masses. Therefore, the Moon orbits a little faster, in the same orbit than say, a baseball. A basketball's orbit would not be noticeably different from the baseball's.DaveC426913 said:Are you asserting that a small object in the same orbit as the Moon's would orbit at a different speed than the Moon?
Note that two objects orbit their combined center of mass, which for the Earth-Moon system is 4,671 km from the center of the Earth. So a small object will have an orbit around Earth more centered around Earth's center, have a different distance or radius (pick one) and a different speed.DaveC426913 said:Are you asserting that a small object in the same orbit as the Moon's would orbit at a different speed than the Moon?
Yes. Such an object could orbit as much as ~ 6 m/s slower than the Moon. ( and have a period ~4 hrs longer)DaveC426913 said:Are you asserting that a small object in the same orbit as the Moon's would orbit at a different speed than the Moon?
Yeah, I thought maybe that was the confounding factor.russ_watters said:Note that two objects orbit their combined center of mass, which for the Earth-Moon system is 4,671 km from the center of the Earth. So a small object will have an orbit around Earth more centered around Earth's center, have a different distance or radius (pick one) and a different speed.
Orbital velocity is the speed at which an object must travel in order to maintain a stable orbit around another object, typically a planet or a star. It is influenced by factors such as the mass and distance of the objects involved.
Mass does not directly affect orbital velocity because the gravitational force between two objects is proportional to the product of their masses. This means that as the mass of one object increases, so does the force pulling it towards the other object, resulting in the same orbital velocity regardless of mass.
Orbital velocity can be calculated using the formula v = √(GM/R), where G is the gravitational constant, M is the mass of the central object, and R is the distance between the two objects.
The higher an object is in its orbit, the slower its orbital velocity will be. This is because the gravitational force decreases with distance, meaning the object needs less velocity to counteract the gravitational pull and maintain its orbit.
Yes, orbital velocity can change if there are changes in the mass or distance of the objects involved. For example, if a satellite's altitude is changed, its orbital velocity will also change to maintain a stable orbit. Other factors such as atmospheric drag can also affect orbital velocity.