artificial satellite
3
3.7
- noun
- /ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃəl ˈsætəˌlaɪt/
- Specialized
:
satélite artificial
- Earth's first artificial satellite is on its way.
- the first artificial satellite
- launch an artificial satellite
- artificial satellites orbit
He proposed that Phobos was an artificial satellite of immense proportions orbiting Mars.
- He proposed that Phobos was an artificial satellite of immense proportions orbiting Mars.
Examples
-
In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit.
-
Lacroute quickly understood the importance of artificial satellites and the gain in precision that could be obtained from astrometric measurements collected outside Earth's atmosphere.
Academic text (2005) -
No artificial satellite or piece of debris had continued in orbit around Earth for a century or two.
Fiction book (1992) -
Apparently, a pretty old artificial satellite has been hacked into.
-
"Ladies and gentlemen, just under an hour ago, the Alulans launched their first artificial satellite.
Fiction book (2001) -
Almost five months ago, the Alulans launched an artificial satellite.
Fiction book (2001) -
It showed one of the many artificial satellites in stationary orbit over the planet.
Fiction book (2000) -
In May, Keyhoe announced in an interview with national broadcaster Frank Edwards that one and possibly two artificial satellites had been detected by the Air Force.
Blog text (3) -
What I did was to point out that (a) artificial satellites, with their line-of-sight view of enormous areas of the Earth, could act as wonderful relay stations, and (b) the obvious location for such relays was in geostationary orbit, where they would stay fixed over the same spot on the planet and therefore, unlike all other celestial bodies, would remain motionless in the sky.
Academic text (2000) -
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite.
Synonyms
608
3.5
An artificial object placed in orbit to send information or gather data from space
25
7.5
A machine that moves around a planet or moon to study it
Antonyms
How Complex
- Specialized
131
3.9
- Specialized
- Specialized
3
3.7
- Specialized
5
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase 'artificial satellite' is directly compositional: 'satellite' denotes an object that orbits a body and 'artificial' specifies that it is man-made, so the combined meaning ('a man-made object placed into orbit') is predictable from the parts. This adjective+noun composition is cross-linguistically common and would be readily understood by a B1 learner who knows both constituents (even if 'satellite' alone can also mean a natural body, 'artificial' clearly restricts the referent).
Etymology
Artificial satellite is a name that gives a clear picture: artificial means 'made by people' and satellite suggests something that follows and goes round a larger object, like the Moon. So the phrase means a 'man-made' object placed to go round the Earth or another body to send signals or take pictures.