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Geographical distance or geodetic distance is the distance measured along the surface of the Earth, or the shortest arch length. The formulae in this article calculate distances between points which are defined by geographical coordinates in terms of latitude and longitude .
An example of an incorrect result is provided by the NGS online utility, which returns a distance that is about 5 km too long. Vincenty suggested a method of accelerating the convergence in such cases (Rapp, 1993).
U. S. Census Bureau Geographic Information Systems FAQ, (content has been moved to What is the best way to calculate the distance between 2 points?) R. W. Sinnott, "Virtues of the Haversine", Sky and Telescope 68 (2), 159 (1984). "Deriving the haversine formula". Ask Dr. Math. April 20–21, 1999. Archived from the original on 20 January 2020.
A diagram illustrating great-circle distance (drawn in red) between two points on a sphere, P and Q. Two antipodal points, u and v are also shown. The great-circle distance, orthodromic distance, or spherical distance is the distance between two points on a sphere, measured along the great-circle arc between them. This arc is the shortest path ...
The reverse conversion is harder: given X-Y-Z can immediately get longitude, but no closed formula for latitude and height exists. See "Geodetic system." Using Bowring's formula in 1976 Survey Review the first iteration gives latitude correct within 10-11 degree as long as the point is within 10,000 meters above or 5,000 meters below the ellipsoid.
Geodetic latitude and geocentric latitude have different definitions. Geodetic latitude is defined as the angle between the equatorial plane and the surface normal at a point on the ellipsoid, whereas geocentric latitude is defined as the angle between the equatorial plane and a radial line connecting the centre of the ellipsoid to a point on the surface (see figure).
A geographical mile is defined to be the length of one minute of arc along the equator (one equatorial minute of longitude) therefore a degree of longitude along the equator is exactly 60 geographical miles or 111.3 kilometers, as there are 60 minutes in a degree. The length of 1 minute of longitude along the equator is 1 geographical mile or 1 ...
For example, to find the midpoint of the path, substitute σ = 1 ⁄ 2 (σ 01 + σ 02); alternatively to find the point a distance d from the starting point, take σ = σ 01 + d/R. Likewise, the vertex , the point on the great circle with greatest latitude, is found by substituting σ = + 1 ⁄ 2 π.