Page 217 - DK Children's Encyclopedia
P. 217
Satellites SEE ALSO
▸ ▸ Astronomy p.32
▸ ▸ Clouds p.64
Satellites are objects that go around, or orbit, something ▸ ▸ Communication
bigger. There are more than 2,000 artificial satellites p.69
orbiting the Earth. They are used for a variety of different ▸ ▸ Internet p.138
jobs. Some track the weather while others let us ▸ ▸ Solar system
communicate with each other. p.23s
▸ ▸ Universe p.263
GPS satellite
The global positioning system (GPS)
gives us our exact position on the
Earth. The system uses more than
20 satellites, working together
to pinpoint your location.
Local satellites
Some types of satellite
stay over the same area
as they orbit the Earth.
These are called
geostationary satellites.
To cover the whole
Earth, many satellites This satellite always
are needed. stays over this area.
When this
flap is open,
Photos of the telescope
the Earth takes photos.
Solar panels are sent to
collect the sun’s weather
rays to power stations.
the satellite.
Communication satellite Weather satellite Hubble space telescope
These satellites pick up signals and These satellites take pictures of the This satellite points away from the
send them to other places in the world. clouds and measure land and sea Earth and takes detailed images of the
They are used for phone calls and live temperatures. This information helps universe. It lets us see farther into
video communications. us to study and forecast the weather. space than we could from the Earth.
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