The view presented in the Overhead View panel is that of an observer looking up from a specific point on the surface of the Earth. The apparent positions of the satellites are traced across the observer's sky, which is projected "fisheye" style onto the panel. North is at the top of the screen, and East is to the left (you're looking UP, remember!).

The observer's latitude and longitude may be entered directly or selected by clicking in the map area of the Coverage panel.

The above image shows the view from Cincinnati, OH. Notice that there are five satellites currently above the horizon. The green circle represents a 30 degree elevation from the horizon and the black one a 60 degree elevation. Thus, all 5 satellites are relatively low in the sky.

The constellation pictured above is identical to the one briefly described in the three-dimensional visualization.

Comments to: savi@geom.umn.edu
Last modified: Thu Jun 19 14:28:11 CDT 1997