Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
v. t. e. 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 of the various spatial reference systems that are in use, and forms the basis for most others.
Longitude ( / ˈlɒndʒɪtjuːd /, AU and UK also / ˈlɒŋɡɪ -/) [ 1][ 2] is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east – west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter lambda (λ). Meridians are imaginary ...
The clock would be set to the local time of a starting point whose longitude was known, and the longitude of any other place could be determined by comparing its local time with the clock time: [51] there is a four-minute difference between locally observed noon and clock noon for each degree of longitude east or west of the initial meridian.
In geodesy, geographic coordinate conversion is defined as translation among different coordinate formats or map projections all referenced to the same geodetic datum. [ 1] A geographic coordinate transformation is a translation among different geodetic datums. Both geographic coordinate conversion and transformation will be considered in this ...
Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole, with 0° at the Equator. Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude and longitude are used together as a coordinate pair to specify a location on the surface of the Earth.
It is impossible to determine longitude with an accuracy better than 10 nautical miles (19 km) by means of a noon sight without averaging techniques. A noon sight is called a Meridian Altitude. [2] While it is very easy to determine the observer's latitude at noon without knowing the exact time, longitude cannot accurately be measured at noon.
Coordinated Universal Time. Current time zones. Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communication, navigation, scientific research, and commerce.
At 45° latitude, one second of time is equivalent in longitude to 1,077.8 ft (328.51 m), or one-tenth of a second means 107.8 ft (32.86 m) [8] At the slightly bulged-out equator, or latitude 0°, the rotation velocity of Earth or its equivalent in longitude reaches its maximum at 465.10 m/s (1,525.9 ft/s). [9]