A polar satellite, in a low Earth orbit passing over both poles, makes 16 orbits each day. Viewed from Earth, how far apart in longitude are its consecutive passes over the equator?
To determine the distance between consecutive passes of a polar satellite over the equator, we need to consider a few factors:
1. Orbital period: The time it takes for the satellite to complete one orbit around the Earth. Since the satellite completes 16 orbits each day, we can calculate the orbital period by dividing 24 hours (the duration of a day) by 16. This gives us an orbital period of 1.5 hours.
2. Earth's rotation: The Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours. Therefore, in 1.5 hours (the orbital period of the satellite), the Earth rotates 1.5/24 * 360 degrees around its axis. Simplifying, this means the Earth rotates 22.5 degrees during one orbit of the satellite.
3. Longitude separation: The Earth's circumference is divided into 360 degrees of longitude. If the Earth rotates 22.5 degrees during each orbit of the satellite, the longitude separation between consecutive passes over the equator will also be 22.5 degrees.
Therefore, the consecutive passes of the polar satellite over the equator are separated by 22.5 degrees of longitude.