What would prevent an orbiting ship from scanning a planet?

In science fiction a common plot device is for a planet to be surrounded by electromagnetic interference that prevents an orbiting ship from scanning it with sensors or communicating with people on the surface.

My question is: How realistic is such a plot device, assuming either current-day or near-future sensory technology? If a planet had, for example, a large-scale electrical storm or a lot of geothermal activity, would it obscure the surface of the planet from the sensors of an orbiting ship or a space telescope, aside from broad features such as continents and oceans? If not, are there any natural or artificial phenomena that would cause such interference?

is a duplicate

This question has been asked before and has already been answered. It should be marked as a duplicate.

Please enter the URL of the proposed duplicate in the details field below.

not constructive

This question cannot be answered in a way that is helpful to anyone. It's not possible to learn something from possible answers, except for the solution for the specific problem of the asker.

Communities

What would prevent an orbiting ship from scanning a planet?

0 comment threads

0 answers