<p>Simply put. It all depends on the balance of an objects straight line speed orbiting the planet and gravity. The further away the object is from earth the slower the speed requirement for this balance is. Great question by the way. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T21:44:48.890Z
2018-11-23T21:44:48.890Z
Begons18
<p>How big would a ball of frozen water need to be to last one orbit? How would atmospheric drag effect the ball of water? </p>

<p><a href="https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/32188/what-is-the-darkest-orbit-around-earth">https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/32188/what-is-the-darkest-orbit-around-earth</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-21T23:10:04.623Z
This is a "how long is a piece of string" question. Depending on various factors, the ball would last something between a second and forever.
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-22T00:19:22.620Z
Neat info in https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770027123.pdf especially near 3.2.3.1.6 and figure27.  Would take some work to integrate that over a sphere of a specific size though.
BowlOfRed
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-22T13:31:02.567Z
@BowlOfRed That's quite a nice report and set of experiments, great find!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-22T17:04:15.460Z
Please add in the info suggested by your last question on this, such as how you will prevent it sublimating. You'll also need to add size, orbit height and eccentricity etc. Way too broad currently.
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-22T20:23:51.123Z
@RoryAlsop is this better?
Muze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-11-23T11:03:47.240Z
No. You need to add info onto the question. Not just a link to another post.
Rory Alsop
<orbit><earth><astrophysics><water>
How long will a ball of ice stay in orbit around Earth?
Muze
# How long will a ball of ice stay in orbit around Earth?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-11-21)

How big would a ball of frozen water need to be to last one orbit? How would atmospheric drag effect the ball of water?

<https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/32188/what-is-the-darkest-orbit-around-earth>

**Tags:** orbit, earth, astrophysics, water
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This is a "how long is a piece of string" question. Depending on various factors, the ball would last something between a second and forever.  
> **username_2**: Neat info in https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770027123.pdf especially near 3.2.3.1.6 and figure27.  Would take some work to integrate that over a sphere of a specific size though.  
> **username_3**: @BowlOfRed That's quite a nice report and set of experiments, great find!  
> **username_4**: Please add in the info suggested by your last question on this, such as how you will prevent it sublimating. You'll also need to add size, orbit height and eccentricity etc. Way too broad currently.  
> **username_0**: @RoryAlsop is this better?  
> **username_4**: No. You need to add info onto the question. Not just a link to another post.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-11-23. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Simply put. It all depends on the balance of an objects straight line speed orbiting the planet and gravity. The further away the object is from earth the slower the speed requirement for this balance is. Great question by the way.


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