pybsm.geospatial.nadir_angle

pybsm.geospatial.nadir_angle(*, h_target: float, h_sensor: float, slant_range: float) → float

Work through the law of cosines to calculate the sensor nadir angle above a circular earth.

Work through the law of cosines to calculate the sensor nadir angle above a circular earth (i.e. angle between looking straight down (nadir = 0) and looking along the slant path).

Parameters:

• h_target – height of the target above sea level (m)

• h_sensor – height of the sensor above sea level (m)

• slant_range – distance between the target and sensor (m)

Returns:

nadir:

the sensor nadir angle (rad)

Raises:

ZeroDivisionError:

if slant_range is 0