Earth's orbit articles
What is the apparent path of the Sun along the celestial sphere or equivalently the plane determined by the Earth's orbit called?
The apparent path traced by the Sun across the background stars over the course of a year, which also corresponds to the...
Does Venus have a stronger magnetic field than Earth?
The immediate answer to whether Venus possesses a stronger magnetic field than Earth is definitively no; in fact, Venus ...
What makes satellites orbit the Earth?
The simple visual of a machine circling our world often conjures the question of how it manages to hang suspended in the...
Are there satellites in low Earth orbit?
The region we call Low Earth Orbit, or LEO, is currently the busiest highway in space, densely populated with functionin...
What does it mean to clear an orbit of debris?
The concept of "clearing an orbit of debris" sounds straightforward—like sweeping up litter in a park—but in the realm o...
What does orbital debris mean?
The seemingly infinite void above our atmosphere is, in reality, quite cluttered. When we talk about **orbital debris**,...
How often do Starlink satellites fall to Earth?
The frequency with which SpaceX's Starlink satellites descend from orbit and burn up in the Earth's atmosphere is a topi...
What is the best explanation for the close-in orbits of hot Jupiters?
The discovery of exoplanets radically reshaped our understanding of planetary systems, but few findings were as surprisi...
Is it possible to return to Earth from space?
The notion of rocketing away from our planet captures the imagination, yet equally important is the controlled, often fi...
How does the SpaceX rocket return to Earth?
The process by which a massive, first-stage rocket booster from a SpaceX launch vehicle returns to Earth is a marvel of ...
How are rockets able to return to Earth safely?
The seemingly simple act of bringing a multi-ton machine from orbital velocity back to a gentle stop on Earth is one of ...
How far is the Perseus Arm from Earth?
The sheer scale of the Milky Way galaxy often makes precise measurements feel like an abstract exercise, especially when...
What galaxy arm is Earth in?
Our cosmic address places the Sun, and by extension, Earth, within a specific, smaller feature of our massive home galax...
What is the barrier between Earth and space called?
The boundary separating our terrestrial atmosphere from the vastness of space is not marked by a sudden wall or a dramat...
What is the apparent great circle annual path of the Sun in the celestial sphere as seen from the Earth?
The line traced by the Sun across the backdrop of the distant stars over the span of one year defines a fundamental conc...