Which of the following statements is true of satellites in polar orbits?
a. That would be true if they were closer than geosynchronous altitude. It’s true of any satellite lower than geosynchronous altitude, whether it is in a polar orbit or not. b. They are in orbits, going from north to south pole and over every latitude in between. c. I suppose that depends on what they are imaging. But satellites show storm systems and clouds. Is that of use to weather forecasters? d. That would be true if they were higher than geosynchronous altitude. e. See answer to b. Since this is a homework assignment, I suspect that there’s a reading assignment that goes with it and that contains the answers you are supposed to give.
None of those statements is inherently true of a satellite in a polar orbit. However, statement a) is true for any satellite provided it is in an orbit lower than a geosynchronous orbit. The point about a polar orbit is that, over the course of several orbits, it can pass directly over every point on the planet, so it is very good for mapping and – yes – weather forecasting too.
a is true (shorter distance to the target) b is wrong, but polar orbit satellites are the only satellites that can see the poles at all, geostationary satellites have a very low elevation at the poles, and see the surface almost from the side. c is wrong (satellites in polar orbits are extremely important for short-term weather forecasts) d is the opposite of a and thus wrong. e is wrong, that is a quality of geostationary satellites, a special kind of geosynchronous satellites.
