• A view of the Earth in space and the orbiting objects around the Earth, which is illuminated as white dots.
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    Each white dot in this image represents an object in orbit around the Earth. Note the ring which represents objects in geostationary orbit such as many communications satellites. Due to their large distance from Earth, they are much more susceptible to damage from solar particles. The swarm of objects around Earth includes objects such as the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope. They are much better protected due to their proximity to the Earth's magnetic field.

  • A view of the Earth in space and the orbiting objects around the Earth, which is illuminated as white dots.

ID#:

WEB14417-2014

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NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

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Smithsonian Institution

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