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Which of the following is true for a geostationary communications satellite of the Earth?

1. It goes around the Earth from east to west.
2. It can lie in any plane, not only the equatorial plane.
3. It can hover vertically above any place on the Earth.
4. It goes around the Earth from west to east.

Correct answer: It goes around the Earth from west to east.

Solution

A geostationary (communications) satellite orbits in the equatorial plane and revolves in the same sense as the Earth's rotation, i.e. from west to east, so it appears stationary relative to the ground. It cannot be above an arbitrary place (only over the equator). Hence the correct universally-true statement is that it goes around the Earth from west to east.

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