Use of models to understand the process of imaging the Earth’s surface by observation satellites

This work presents a description of a model to simulate the acquisition of images of the Earth’s surface by observation satellites. This model was used in a discipline of Remote Sensing of a technical course in Surveying of a federal institution of professional education in the State of Goiás. The objective is to provide significant learning about the orbital motion of a satellite and the process of imaging the Earth’s surface. As a result, the use of the model provided the understanding that the satellite moves in a fixed orbit around the Earth. It also provided the understanding that the imaging of the entire terrestrial globe is only possible due to the combination of the satellite’s orbital movement with the Earth’s rotation.

Keywords:
Model; remote sensing; science teaching; observation satellite