Look Angle Calculator

Calculate Look Angle





Formula

The formula to calculate the look angle (θ) is:

\[ θ = \cos^{-1}\left(\frac{R + h}{R + d}\right) \]

Where:

Definitions

Example

Let's say the radius of the Earth (R) is 6371 km, the altitude of the satellite (h) is 500 km, and the distance to the horizon (d) is 1000 km. Using the formula:

\[ θ = \cos^{-1}\left(\frac{6371 + 500}{6371 + 1000}\right) \]

We get:

\[ θ \approx 21.22\, \text{degrees} \]

So, the look angle is approximately 21.22 degrees.