What is a satellite?

What is a satellite?

• A. A natural or artificial object that orbits a planet.
• B. A small rocky body that orbits the sun.
• C. Any object that revolves around another object in space.
• D. A spacecraft designed to land on a planet.

Answer: (C)

A satellite is anything that moves in orbit around another object in space due to gravity. That makes the broad statement “any object that revolves around another object in space” the best choice, because it covers natural satellites (like moons) and artificial ones (like space telescopes) around planets, as well as other orbital relationships. The other descriptions are narrower or describe different concepts: orbiting a planet is common for satellites but not the full definition; a small rocky body that orbits the Sun describes asteroids, not satellites; and a spacecraft designed to land on a planet refers to a lander, not an object in orbit.

A satellite is anything that moves in orbit around another object in space due to gravity. That makes the broad statement “any object that revolves around another object in space” the best choice, because it covers natural satellites (like moons) and artificial ones (like space telescopes) around planets, as well as other orbital relationships. The other descriptions are narrower or describe different concepts: orbiting a planet is common for satellites but not the full definition; a small rocky body that orbits the Sun describes asteroids, not satellites; and a spacecraft designed to land on a planet refers to a lander, not an object in orbit.