Article: Satellite meteorology.(Weathern watch with BBC weather forecaster Helen Willetts)

What are the different types of weather satellite?

Two types of satellite provide weather data: geostationary and polar-orbiting. Geostationary satellites orbit above the equator at a height of 35,780 kilometres. Their orbits are synchronous with the Earth's rotation and thus 'hang' above the same spot on the ground. Polar-orbiting satellites orbit at a height of 830 kilometres and pass over the Earth from pole to pole. Each orbit takes one hour and 42 minutes, and during this time the Earth turns by about 25[degrees], so the satellite views a different part of the surface with each pass. In the UK, we receive images from two sets of three passes from two ...

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