GroundTrack
R2026bGround track object belonging to satellite, platform, or Moon in scenario
Description
GroundTrack defines a ground track object belonging to a
satellite, a platform, or a CentralBodyOptions object in a scenario.
Creation
You can create a GroundTrack object using the groundTrack object function
of the Satellite, Platform, or CentralBodyOptions object.
For the CentralBodyOptions object, the CentralBody property must equal "Moon".
Properties
Period of the ground track to be visualized in the Satellite Scenario Viewer, specified as a nonnegative scalar, in seconds.
The default value is for platforms and satellites whose
OrbitPropagator is set to 'ephemeris':
Satellite scenario
StartTimetoStopTimefor platforms and satellites whoseOrbitPropagatoris set to'ephemeris'For satellites in a parabolic or hyperbolic orbit and whose
OrbitPropagatoris set to'two-body-keplerian'or'numerical', the defaultLeadTimeis the duration from the satellite scenarioStartTimeto the time when the satellite reaches 145 times the equatorial radius of the central body.One orbital period, in all other cases.
In any case, ground tracks are not drawn on the Moon.
For splatforms with CentralBody set to "Moon",
ground track visualization is not supported. The TrailTime property is
accepted but has no visual effect.
Period of the ground track history to be visualized in the Satellite Scenario Viewer, specified as a positive scalar, in seconds.
The default value for platforms and satellites whose
OrbitPropagator is set to 'ephemeris':
Satellite scenario
StartTimetoStopTimewhenOrbitPropagatoris set to'ephemeris'For satellites in a parabolic or hyperbolic orbit and whose
OrbitPropagatoris set to'two-body-keplerian'or'numerical', the default TrailTime is the duration from the satellite scenario StartTime to the time when the satellite reaches 145 times the equatorial radius of the central body.One orbital period, in all other cases.
In any case, ground tracks are not drawn on the Moon.
For satellites or platforms with CentralBody set to
"Moon", ground track visualization is not supported in R2026b. The
TrailTime property is accepted but has no visual effect.
Visual width of the ground track in pixels, specified as 'LineWidth' and
a scalar in the range (0 10].
The line width cannot be thinner than the width of a pixel. If you set the line width to a value that is less than the width of a pixel on your system, the line displays as one pixel wide.
Color of the future ground track line, specified as 'LeadLineColor' and
an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.
For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.
An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range
[0,1], for example,[0.4 0.6 0.7].A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (
#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from0toF. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes"#FF8800","#ff8800","#F80", and"#f80"are equivalent.
Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.
| Color Name | Short Name | RGB Triplet | Hexadecimal Color Code | Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
"red"
|
"r"
|
[1 0 0]
|
"#FF0000"
|
|
"green"
|
"g"
|
[0 1 0]
|
"#00FF00"
|
|
"blue"
|
"b"
|
[0 0 1]
|
"#0000FF"
|
|
"cyan"
|
"c"
|
[0 1 1]
|
"#00FFFF"
|
|
"magenta"
|
"m"
|
[1 0 1]
|
"#FF00FF"
|
|
"yellow"
|
"y"
|
[1 1 0]
|
"#FFFF00"
|
|
"black"
|
"k"
|
[0 0 0]
|
"#000000"
|
|
"white"
|
"w"
|
[1 1 1]
|
"#FFFFFF"
|
|
Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB® uses in many types of plots.
| RGB Triplet | Hexadecimal Color Code | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
[0 0.4470 0.7410]
|
"#0072BD"
|
|
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]
|
"#D95319"
|
|
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]
|
"#EDB120"
|
|
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]
|
"#7E2F8E"
|
|
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]
|
"#77AC30"
|
|
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]
|
"#4DBEEE"
|
|
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]
|
"#A2142F"
|
|
![Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue](colororder1.png){kind=small}
![Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange](colororder2.png){kind=small}
![Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow](colororder3.png){kind=small}
![Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple](colororder4.png){kind=small}
![Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green](colororder5.png){kind=small}
![Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue](colororder6.png){kind=small}
![Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red](colororder7.png){kind=small}
Example: 'blue'
Example: [0 0 1]
Example: '#0000FF'
Color of the ground track line history, specified as 'TrailLineColor' and
an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.
For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.
An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range
[0,1], for example,[0.4 0.6 0.7].A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (
#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from0toF. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes"#FF8800","#ff8800","#F80", and"#f80"are equivalent.
Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.
| Color Name | Short Name | RGB Triplet | Hexadecimal Color Code | Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
"red"
|
"r"
|
[1 0 0]
|
"#FF0000"
|
|
"green"
|
"g"
|
[0 1 0]
|
"#00FF00"
|
|
"blue"
|
"b"
|
[0 0 1]
|
"#0000FF"
|
|
"cyan"
|
"c"
|
[0 1 1]
|
"#00FFFF"
|
|
"magenta"
|
"m"
|
[1 0 1]
|
"#FF00FF"
|
|
"yellow"
|
"y"
|
[1 1 0]
|
"#FFFF00"
|
|
"black"
|
"k"
|
[0 0 0]
|
"#000000"
|
|
"white"
|
"w"
|
[1 1 1]
|
"#FFFFFF"
|
|
Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.
| RGB Triplet | Hexadecimal Color Code | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
[0 0.4470 0.7410]
|
"#0072BD"
|
|
[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]
|
"#D95319"
|
|
[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]
|
"#EDB120"
|
|
[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]
|
"#7E2F8E"
|
|
[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]
|
"#77AC30"
|
|
[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]
|
"#4DBEEE"
|
|
[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]
|
"#A2142F"
|
|
Example: 'blue'
Example: [0 0 1]
Example: '#0000FF'
Default Values
The default value is:
[1 1 0.067]for satellite and platform[0.7483 0.7483 0.7483]for Moon
Visibility mode of the ground track graphic in the Satellite Scenario Viewer, specified as one of these values:
'auto'— Hidden by default in 3-D viewers, and visible by default in 2-D viewers.'inherit'— Inherit visibility from parent satellite graphic. The visibility of the ground track graphic matches that of the parent satellite or platform.'manual'— Do not inherit visibility from parent. Visibility of the ground track graphic is independent of that of the parent satellite or platform.
For platforms and satellites whose
CentralBody equals "Earth", ground track is only
drawn on Earth. In any case, ground tracks are not drawn on the Moon. The default value is:
'auto'for satellites and platforms'manual'for Moon (Aero.satellitescenario.CentralBodyOptionswithCentralBodyproperty equal to"Moon")
Object Functions
Examples
Create a satellite scenario object.
startTime = datetime(2020,5,10);
stopTime = startTime + days(5);
sampleTime = 60; % seconds
sc = satelliteScenario(startTime,stopTime,sampleTime);Calculate the semimajor axis of the geosynchronous satellite.
earthAngularVelocity = 0.0000729211585530; % rad/s orbitalPeriod = 2*pi/earthAngularVelocity; % seconds earthStandardGravitationalParameter = 398600.4418e9; % m^3/s^2 semiMajorAxis = (earthStandardGravitationalParameter*((orbitalPeriod/(2*pi))^2))^(1/3);
Define the remaining orbital elements of the geosynchronous satellite.
eccentricity = 0; inclination = 60; % degrees rightAscensionOfAscendingNode = 0; % degrees argumentOfPeriapsis = 0; % degrees trueAnomaly = 0; % degrees
Add the geosynchronous satellite to the scenario.
sat = satellite(sc,semiMajorAxis,eccentricity,inclination,rightAscensionOfAscendingNode,... argumentOfPeriapsis,trueAnomaly,"OrbitPropagator","two-body-keplerian","Name","GEO Sat");
Visualize the scenario using the Satellite Scenario Viewer.
v = satelliteScenarioViewer(sc);
Add a ground track of the satellite to the visualization and adjust how much of the future and history of the ground track to display.
leadTime = 2*24*3600; % seconds trailTime = leadTime; gt = groundTrack(sat,"LeadTime",leadTime,"TrailTime",trailTime)
gt =
GroundTrack with properties:
LeadTime: 172800
TrailTime: 172800
LineWidth: 1
LeadLineColor: [1 1 0.0670]
TrailLineColor: [1 1 0.0670]
VisibilityMode: 'inherit'
Visualize the satellite movement and its trace on the ground. The satellite covers the area around Japan during one half of the day and Australia during the other half.
play(sc);
Limitations
Ground track visualization on the Moon surface is not supported in R2026b. For satellites or platforms with
CentralBodyset to"Moon", theGroundTrackobject does not render a ground track on the Moon.
Version History
Introduced in R2021aSee Also
Objects
Functions
show|play|groundStation|access|hide|satellite|platform|groundTrack
