this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2026
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See title. This is a shower thought that popped into me while slowly waking up. I'm thinking, what if due to e.g. gravitational shenanigans, the pull on a planet is such that a planet stands relatively motionless in a fixed position towards its star?

Is that possible or am I forgetting some astronomy basics?

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[–] amio@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

No, not really - if in geosynchronous orbit you could choose your frame of reference so it rotates with the parent body, making the satellite appear stationary, but that feels like trickery. In terms of mechanics, the satellite will be moving roughly parallel to the surface; if you took a satellite and magically stopped all its momentum, it'd drop in a straight line towards the parent. Changing the speed means changing the trajectory, probably flinging the satellite off into space or putting it on collision course with its parent.