Comrades! Death to the hooligan asteroid!

David M. Palmer wrote:
In article
tatelephone, Pat
Flannery wrote:

Sylvia Else wrote:
"closer than some geo-stationary satellites" ?

Geo-stationary satellites operate at varying distances?
This could be a screw up with translation, as Russia has used satellites
with highly elliptical orbits (Molniya orbits) that also have a 24 hour
period.

Molniya orbits are 12 hour orbits that are 'approximately
geostationary' at apogee, which they achieve at a latitude of ~63.4
degrees. This inclination ( i=acos(sqrt(1/5)) ) cancels out the
precession in the argument of perigee (i.e. if the apogee starts out at
the Northernmost point in the orbit, it stays there) and is well placed
for those far above the decadent temperate latitudes.

I always thought they were 24 hour period; thanks for the correction.

Pat

On Dec 31 2009, 5:03*pm, Damien Valentine wrote:
On Dec 31, 12:39*pm, OM wrote:

...And they were pretty proud of these spy...er..,"weather" sats, too.
Released at least two stamps commemorating them, which was the one
thing positive you have to give the Evil Soviet Empire credit for...

Were they...*evil* stamps? *(Twirls handlebar mustache.)

I actually picture Dr. Evil asking that with his little finger to his
mouth...