Question

A satellite revolving in a circular equatorial orbit of radius R = 2.00x10⁴ km from west to east appears over a certain point at the equator every τ= 11.6 hours. Using these data, calculate the mass of the Earth. The gravitational constant is supposed to be known.

Answer 1

We know from the previous problem that a satellite moving west to east at a distance R = 2-00 x 10⁴ km from the centre of the earth will be revolving round the earth with an angular velocity faster than the earth’s diurnal angular velocity. Let