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A geographic coordinate system (GCS) is a spherical or geodetic coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on Earth as latitude and longitude. [1] It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used type of the various spatial reference systems that are in use, and forms the basis for most others.
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).
Longitude (λ); Lines of longitude appear vertical with varying curvature in this projection, but are actually halves of great ellipses, with identical radii at a given latitude.
A coordinate system conversion is a conversion from one coordinate system to another, with both coordinate systems based on the same geodetic datum.
Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definitions of latitude and longitude. In the first step the physical surface is modeled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oceans and its continuation under the land masses.
The coordinate format can be chosen via Tools → Options → 3D View → Show Lat/Long. There are many ways to obtain coordinates: Move the mouse pointer to where you want, then use the keyboard to select the Menu item Edit → Copy View Location to copy the coordinates to the clipboard. More convenient is the associated keyboard shortcut.
The World Geodetic System (WGS) is a standard used in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS.The current version, WGS 84, defines an Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system and a geodetic datum, and also describes the associated Earth Gravitational Model (EGM) and World Magnetic Model (WMM).
Monuments of International Longitude Determination at Sheshan Observatory, Shanghai. The history of longitude describes the centuries-long effort by astronomers, cartographers and navigators to discover a means of determining the longitude (the east-west position) of any given place on Earth.