Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-of-atmospheres-and-oceans-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/3/c/solution

Assume a circular orbit, nadir viewing, negligible planetary rotation and a fixed camera relative to the orbital ground track. If is the planet's radius and the orbital altitude, the orbital angular speed is
The nadir footprint moves across the surface at , rather than the slightly larger satellite speed . Hence
This is an upper integration time for approximately one along-track sample without motion compensation. Using satellite speed directly changes it by only about four per cent; the expression above keeps the projection onto the planetary surface.

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