Light

Can a satellite hover over the Sun?
Artist's impression of a solar sail in use. NASA (Dr. Paulett Liewer)

My friend Russell asked me under which condition an object would be able to stand still around the Sun. This is a very interesting question; it probes some fundamental facts about the solar system and its applications are keeping many engineers around the world busy. Planets go around the Sun due to Sun’s gravitational field.

2 September 2014