It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
Originally posted by GodForbid
Satellites tend to avoid the poles due to magnetic poles and solar radiation. You can see the white "circle" is actually more hexagonal, and that's because of the flight lines of the orbiting satellites.edit on 9-3-2011 by GodForbid because: (no reason given)
Best Coverage for the North The Iridium Satellite Constellation circles the poles and offers the best coverage for the NWT, Yukon and Nunavut. It's the best way to keep in touch with the rest of the world.
The satellite are in 6 groups. Each group is in its own polar orbital lane, spaced 60 deg apart in longitude. on the figure below each orbit appears twice, first the satellites move north and then over the north pole and down the other side.