Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The place where the end of the world and space has been detected by the experts. This boundary is known as the Karman line.
The Karman line is known to have been named by Theodore von Karman, a Hungarian-American physicist in 1957. He was the first person to try to define the boundary between earth and space.
The Karman line is intended not only for the confines of aircraft, but also for scientists and engineers who are researching the earth via earth-orbiting spacecraft and satellites.
“The Karman line is an approximate area that indicates the altitude at which a satellite can orbit the Earth without burning up or de-orbiting before circling the Earth at least once,” said Katrina Bossert, space physicist at the ‘Arizona State University, quoted by Science Live, Sunday (2019-12-18).2022).
Bossert explained that there are various factors that determine how much air resistance there is. It is the size and shape of a satellite.
This will affect the ability to orbit the Earth with satellites. Usually low earth orbit satellites are classified as flying less than 1,000 km altitude, but sometimes around 160 km above the earth’s surface.
The satellite, which is in low orbit, Bossert said, will crash within a few years. He explained that it was because “there is a pull from the Earth’s upper atmosphere that gradually slows down the orbital velocity.”
Another explanation comes from Matthew Igel, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of California. According to him the line is defined as a distance of 100 kilometers above the earth. However, it’s not impossible that they orbit below that line.
“It’s possible for something to orbit the Earth at an altitude lower than the Karman line, but it would require a very high orbital velocity that would be difficult to sustain due to friction. But there’s nothing against it,” Igel explained .
“Therein lies the feeling you must have for the Karman line: It’s an imaginary but practical threshold between air travel and space travel,” continues Igel.
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