There are two main differences between these types of satellites; the orbit height and orbit direction.
Geostationary satellites orbit the Earth about 22,300 miles (35,800 km) above its equator, far enough out to allow
the satellites a full view of the Earth or a "full-disk". They orbit the earth at speeds equal to the
planet's
rotation, which allows them to maintain their position over specific geographic regions, so they can provide
continuous weather monitoring of that area over time. When weather systems form, the GOES satellites are able to
monitor storm development and track their movements.
Polar satellites orbit the Earth roughly 14 times a day from pole to pole about 540 miles (870 km) above the ground.
Data from the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) series supports a broad range of environmental monitoring
applications including weather analysis and forecasting, climate research and prediction, global sea surface
temperature measurements, atmospheric soundings of temperature and humidity, ocean dynamics research, tropical
cyclone monitoring, volcanic eruption monitoring, forest fire detection, global vegetation analysis, search and
rescue, and many other applications.