Wanderlust World Wanderlust World All satellites, whether they travel in equatorial orbits or polar orbits, have the force of gravity exerted upon them. This gravity pulls constantly at the satellite, drawing it in towards the celestial body that it orbits. They don't fall straight down due to their velocity. This velocity is known as the satellite's centripetal force. This force acts as a counterbalance to gravity and allows the satellite to remain in orbit. If a satellite is placed in a geostationary orbit, then it moves at the same speed as the celestial body that it orbits and will appear stationary in the sky. A geostationary orbit is an example of an equatorial orbit.
Satellites in equatorial orbits provide repeated observations of the same area. They can give a constant view of the territory below them. This is particularly advantageous in weather tracking. It gives observers below high temporal resolution, meaning that they are provided with almost a continuous track of severe weather such as thunderstorms and hurricanes. Images are updated every minute in satellite tracking systems that cover North America.
For a satellite to be in a geostationary or geosynchronous orbit, it has to be in a very high orbit. This extreme altitude means the satellite does not give the same quality of spatial resolution that lower-flying satellites provide. There is not as much detail in the images from geostationary satellites as there is in polar-orbiting satellites. Geostationary orbits also lose more detail the further the object of interest is from the equator. Images become distorted due to the angle of the image. This becomes especially accentuated in polar regions.
Satellites that fly in a polar orbit generally fly closer to the surface of the celestial body than do their equatorial-orbiting counterparts. This gives the images provided by these satellites greater data resolution, meaning that these images are crisper and better-defined. Satellites in polar orbits provide complete global coverage and are not restricted to one region. The downfall to satellites in polar orbits is that these satellites cannot provide continuous viewing of one location.