geosynchronous orbit

Orbit with a period matching Earth's orbit at a fixed longitude but not necessarily a fixed latitude

EntityQ472251

Also known as GSO

Subclass of: geocentric orbit
, synchronous orbit

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

A geosynchronous orbit is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds. The synchronization of rotation and orbital period means that, for an observer on Earth's surface, an object in geosynchronous orbit returns to exactly the same position in the sky after a period of one sidereal day. Over the course of a day, the object's position in the sky may remain still or trace out a path, typically in a figure-8 form, whose precise characteristics depend on the orbit's inclination and eccentricity. A circular geosynchronous orbit has a constant altitude of 35,786 km (22,236 mi).

Overview

All data

15 statements · 20% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Short name: GSO
Orbits: Earth

On other databases

12 identifiers linking geosynchronous orbit across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

20%

externally sourced

Source last edited July 10, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). geosynchronous orbit (Q472251). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/geosynchronous-orbit-Q472251