Geostationary Banana Over Texas

I wanted some information about this wacky site http://www.geostationarybananaovertexas.com/

I am not 100% certain it is a hoax, but it is rather obvious.

I was interested in reading the kind of details Snopes usually provides.

[snapdragonfly]

I haven't heard anything about it till your post, but I gotta tell ya, I love that name more than anything I've run across in AGES. I mean, THAT is golden...geostationarybananaovertexas...I am TICKLED!!!

And if I see a big banana in the sky I'll let ya'll know for sure.

Had it been an apple it wouldn't have been nearly as funny.

[Hans Off]

That is so brilliant I am almost moved to tears!

[Silas Sparkhammer]

Cute, but not feasible. At those altitudes, high winds would shove it all over the southern U.S., and probably destroy it in very short order. If you go high enough to overcome that problem, then you've left the atmosphere pretty much entirely, in which case it won't be "geostationary," but in an ordinary low earth orbit, i.e., moving in a typical ground-trace over most of the earth between the horse latitudes.

If it were possible at all, Coca-Cola would have done it long ago.

Silas

[lynnejanet]

That's a fascinating web site. I'm not so sure it is a hoax. I'm skeptical that they're actually going to construct and launch the banana, but the people on "The Team" check out as real people with credentials as artists and engineers. Maybe the website itself is the art piece?

It's strange that the project is based in Montreal.

I love the "On the Concept"section. It is so delightfully meaningless!

Originally Posted by Silas Sparkhammer

Cute, but not feasible.

I'll go further: Brilliant, but impossible. Never mind the altitude, the fact of the matter is that you* cannot put ANYTHING in a geostationary orbit over texas. Not ever.

Geostationary orbit means that the object is orbiting the earth with approximately the same period of rotation of the earth and to an observer on the ground appears to be stationary (give or take). While the altitude may or may not be a problem (And I reckon that you could probably construct a giant artificial banana that could survive at an altitude of 35-36 thousand kilometers**), the real issue is that to appear stationary from the ground (be over the same place at all times, in this case texas), you need the object to be orbiting at the equator. Otherwise you have an orbit that might be Geosynchronous, but isnt geostationary.

Sadly, texas is well north of the equator, so the geostationary banana over texas will have to remain naught but a beautiful dream.

*"you" being the general "you", I dont mean to impugne Silas' satelite launching capabilities.
**Now THERE is a sentence I didnt expect to type when I got up this morning)

[Delta-V]

Originally Posted by SiKboy

I'll go further: Brilliant, but impossible. Never mind the altitude, the fact of the matter is that you* cannot put ANYTHING in a geostationary orbit over texas. Not ever.

It's not designed to orbit. It's a helium balloon with a turbofan for station-keeping to keep it geostationary. It'll still be in the upper atmosphere and therefore won't be too perturbed by orbital mechanics.

Hey they put a monkey in the white house, why not a Banana over Texas.

[Mad Jay]

Make a banana shaped baloon and anchor it somewhere around the centre of Texas. Geostationary balloon over Texas

[Ravenhull]

Well, we all know the universe is shaped like a banana....

[snopes]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...70110/20070110

[Mad Jay]

I still don;t get it. Why a banana? Why not Jesus? or a sun? or a moon? or a rainbow? I know they have tried to explain it, and I have read it on their website, but I seriously doubt that their own explanation makes sense...even to them.

[Andrew of Ware]

And the banana is macho and phallic,

I think this explains everything.

(In Britain they would be sure to get an Arts Council Grant.)