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A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol ′, is a unit of angular measurement equal to 1 / 60 of one degree. [1] Since one degree is 1 / 360 of a turn, or complete rotation, one arcminute is 1 / 21 600 of a turn.
One radian is defined as the angle at the center of a circle in a plane that subtends an arc whose length equals the radius of the circle. [6] More generally, the magnitude in radians of a subtended angle is equal to the ratio of the arc length to the radius of the circle; that is, =, where θ is the magnitude in radians of the subtended angle, s is arc length, and r is radius.
Conversion of various sight adjustment increment Increment, or click (mins of arc) (milli-radians) At 100 m At 100 yd 1 ⁄ 12 ′ 0.083′ 0.024 mrad 2.42 mm 0.242 cm 0.0958 in 0.087 in 0.25 ⁄ 10 mrad 0.086′ 0.025 mrad 2.5 mm 0.25 cm 0.0985 in 0.09 in 1 ⁄ 8 ′ 0.125′ 0.036 mrad 3.64 mm 0.36 cm 0.144 in
provided the angle is measured in radians. Angles measured in degrees must first be converted to radians by multiplying them by / . These approximations have a wide range of uses in branches of physics and engineering, including mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, cartography, astronomy, and computer science.
A degree (in full, a degree of arc, arc degree, or arcdegree), usually denoted by ° (the degree symbol), is a measurement of a plane angle in which one full rotation is 360 degrees. [4] It is not an SI unit—the SI unit of angular measure is the radian—but it is mentioned in the SI brochure as an accepted unit. [5]
Solid angles can also be measured in squares of angular measures such as degrees, minutes, and seconds. A small object nearby may subtend the same solid angle as a larger object farther away. For example, although the Moon is much smaller than the Sun, it is also much closer to Earth. Indeed, as viewed from any point on Earth, both objects have ...
[18] [19] Today, the degree, 1 / 360 of a turn, or the mathematically more convenient radian, 1 / 2 π of a turn (used in the SI system of units) is generally used instead. In the 1970s – 1990s, most scientific calculators offered the gon (gradian), as well as radians and degrees, for their trigonometric functions. [23]
[a] The parsec unit is obtained by the use of parallax and trigonometry, and is defined as the distance at which 1 AU subtends an angle of one arcsecond [1] ( 1 / 3600 of a degree). The nearest star, Proxima Centauri , is about 1.3 parsecs (4.2 light-years) from the Sun : from that distance, the gap between the Earth and the Sun spans ...