How do I calculate the maximum northern and southern latitude a LEO satellite can image? What parameters would I need?
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2Angle of view for the camera. Orbit altitudes. Orbit Inclination. Trigonometry. – A McKelvy Jun 09 '23 at 12:45
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1See if https://space.stackexchange.com/q/60109/37597 helps you. – Ryan C Jun 09 '23 at 15:26
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2You'll also need orbital eccentricity, and if the orbit's not circular, you'll need argument of periapsis. – notovny Jun 09 '23 at 17:25
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Here are some equations dealing with the furthest visible point for a given altitude: https://www.celestialprogramming.com/horizondistance.html – Greg Miller Jun 10 '23 at 04:18
1 Answers
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For the most simple case:
- Circular inclined orbit
- Camera looking in all directions
- Spherical Earth
- Ignoring the atmosphere
Then you the highest latitude you can image is the sum of the inclination and an angle in a right triangle.
$$\phi = i + \cos^{-1}\left(\frac{r}{r + h}\right)$$
Where $h$ is the altitude of the satellite.
The flat view at the extreme latitude isn't very good.
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