That object, if it exists, is predicted to have an orbital period of 26m years.

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This network is a set of geostationary communications satellites (ie, spacecraft that have an orbital period of 24 hours, and so hover over the same place).

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The planet orbiting Kepler 10, by contrast, has an orbital period of a mere 20 hours and is so dense that it is probably made of iron.

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That would give it an orbital period of 341 years the longest yet measured and far longer than, for example, comet Halley, which goes around the sun in a sprightly 76 years.

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This theory seemed to agree with observations taken over the last three decades, which reveal that binary systems are abundant, but none of the pairs have an orbital period shorter than five hours, the researchers said.

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To do this the satellite would need to be in a synchronous orbit (one whose orbital period is the same as the period of revolution of the planet underneath), and the descending cable would have to be counterbalanced by an ascending one extending off into space.

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