Category: Processing and quality

Revisit Time

Revisit time is the typical time between observations of the same location by a sensor or constellation.

Also known as: revisit interval, repeat cycle

Expanded definition

Revisit time is often quoted as a single number (for example 5 days), but real revisit depends on latitude, acquisition strategy, and whether you count only usable observations.

For optical sensors, cloud cover can reduce effective revisit dramatically. For operational monitoring, it helps to distinguish between nominal revisit (how often scenes exist) and effective revisit (how often you get a usable measurement for your use case).

Related terms

Temporal Resolution

Temporal resolution describes how often a location is observed, such as a 5-day revisit.

Time Series

A time series is a sequence of observations over time for the same location, used for monitoring and change detection.

Cadence

Cadence is how often a processed product is delivered, which can differ from sensor revisit time.