ELI5: What is GPS?

Imagine you're playing hide-and-seek, but instead of just your friends, you're hiding from the whole world! GPS is like a super-powered helper that tells people exactly where you are, even if you're hiding behind a giant mountain.

Think of GPS as a bunch of special satellites floating way up in space. These satellites are like friendly birds constantly chirping out their location.

Here's how it works:

• You have a special GPS receiver. This could be your phone, your car's navigation system, or even a special watch.
• Your GPS receiver listens for the chirps from at least four of these bird-satellites.
• By listening to these chirps, your receiver can figure out how far away you are from each satellite.
• Because it knows how far away you are from several satellites, it can figure out exactly where you are on Earth! It's like drawing circles around each satellite on a map; where the circles all meet is where you are!
• The receiver then shows your location on a map.