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If the earth is treated as a sphere, the formula is 6371 km * cos-1(cos(Long1-Long2)cos(Lat1)cos(Lat2)+sin(Lat1)sin(Lat2))Here, Long1 and Lat1 are the coordinates of one point, and Long2 and Lat2 are the coordinates of the other. 6371 km is the radius of the Earth (which you could convert to miles to get an answer in miles for your distance). You'll notice we're taking sines and cosines of latitude and longitude: this is because they're really angles! Longitude measures a point's angle in the equator's plane, and latitude measures its angle away from that horizontal. If you've seen spherical coordinates before, this should be familiar. The formula assumes you're dealing with angles in radians. If you want to use degrees, you'll have to multiply the final answer by pi/180. Here's how to get this formula. First, note that it's very easy to get a distance between two points on a sphere if you know the angle of the arc between them: just multiply it by the radius. So we're going to concentrate on finding this angle. We're going to use the fact that the dot product of two vectors is equal to the product of their lengths, times the cosine of the angle between them. At the same time, we can compute a dot product coordinate by coordinate. Let the vectors a and b be the vectors from the center of the earth to each of our points. Using spherical coordinates, we can write them down explicitly: a = (r cos(Long1)cos(Lat1), r sin(Long1)cos(Lat1), r sin(Lat1)) b = (r cos(Long2)cos(Lat2), r sin(Long2)cos(Lat2), r sin(Lat2)) We take their dot product and get r^2 (cos(Long1)cos(Long2)cos(Lat1)cos(Lat2) + sin(Long1)sin(Long2)cos(Lat1)cos(Lat2) + sin(Lat1)sin(Lat2)) By the other formula for dot product, this is r^2 times the cosine of the angle between them. So cancel the r^2, and take the inverse cosine. You'll get the formula above (if you simplify some terms). In fact the earth is not a sphere. It is generally an "oblate spheroid", meaning that it is somewhat flattened at the poles. But the true shape of the Earth is actually irregular, and it is therefore impossible to determine by formula the exact distance between two points. Various approximations of the shape of the earth, called reference ellipsoids, are used in other, more complex formulas that come closer to the actual distance. The spherical solution given here is pretty close for many purposes though.

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Q: What is the formula for distance using latitude and longitude?
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How do you calculate the angular distance?

The angular distance between two points on a sphere can be calculated using the Haversine formula, which involves the latitude and longitude of the two points. The formula takes into account the Earth's radius and computes the central angle between the points, which can then be converted to angular distance.


What is the distance in km between an island 179 degrees and 180 degrees west longitude at 60 degrees north latitude?

The distance between two points on Earth can be calculated using the haversine formula. Given the coordinates, the distance between these two points is approximately 81.42 km.


How do I find the latitude and longitude Point A for a specific point based on a known latitude and longitude Point B and a known distance between Point A and Point B Is there a formula?

One way to find the latitude and longitude of Point A based on a known point B and distance between them is to use the Haversine formula, which calculates the distance between two points on Earth using their latitudes and longitudes. However, this formula does not directly provide the coordinates of Point A itself; it's used to determine the distance. To find the coordinates of Point A, you would need to further manipulate the formula and solve the equations to derive the desired latitude and longitude.


What is distance measured in degrees east or west of the prime meridian?

The Prime Meridian is defined as zero degrees of longitude. The distance in miles between degrees of longitude depends on the latitude; one degree of longitude equals the cosine of the latitude * 60 nautical miles. Note: If you're using Excel or some other spreadsheet program, be sure to convert degrees into radians before calculating the cosine of the latitude.


Can the distance between two points be found if longitude and latitude are known for both points?

Yes, the distance between two points can be found if the longitude and latitude are known for both points. This can be calculated using the haversine formula, which takes into account the curvature of the Earth to determine the shortest distance between the two points.


How places on the earth may be located using coordinate system?

Places on Earth can be located using a coordinate system, such as latitude and longitude. Latitude measures a location's distance north or south of the equator, while longitude measures its distance east or west of the Prime Meridian. By combining these coordinates, any point on Earth's surface can be pinpointed with accuracy.


What are the 3 important things to remember when using latitude and longitude?

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What are the lines on maps and globes that help us find places?

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How do the latitudes and longitude help you locate the exact places?

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How do the latitude and longitudes help you locate the exact places?

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