Scribd
Upload
10 views

Great Circle Distance: Method

This document describes two methods for calculating distances between two points defined by latitude and longitude: 1. The great circle distance method which directly calculates the distance along the curve of the Earth's surface between two points. 2. The approximate ellipsoidal distance method which provides a faster but less accurate estimate of the distance, with an estimated accuracy of about 200 meters over 50 km for points in Australia. Both methods require entering the latitude and longitude coordinates of the two points.

Uploaded by

rishikeshmainali
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as XLS, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views

Great Circle Distance: Method

This document describes two methods for calculating distances between two points defined by latitude and longitude: 1. The great circle distance method which directly calculates the distance along the curve of the Earth's surface between two points. 2. The approximate ellipsoidal distance method which provides a faster but less accurate estimate of the distance, with an estimated accuracy of about 200 meters over 50 km for points in Australia. Both methods require entering the latitude and longitude coordinates of the two points.

Uploaded by

rishikeshmainali
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as XLS, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Great Circle Distance

Great Circle Distance


First point (A) Second point (B) Distance (km) Latitude deg min -37 0 -37 0 88.744 sec 0 0 Longitude deg min 148 0 149 0 secs 0 0

Method: (1) Enter the latitude & longitude of the two points (remember that south latitude & west longitude are negative) (2) Read the great circle distance from A to B in km, from cell C14. (3) To see the intermediate values, use the spreadsheet tools to show the outline symbols and then ungroup the hidden rows and columns.

Page 1

Approx Ellipsoidal Distance

Approximate Ellipsoidal Distance


First point (A) Second point (B) Distance (km) Latitude deg min -37 0 -37 0 88.720 sec 0 0 deg 148 149 Longitude min 0 0 secs 0 0

Note:

This formula has been specifically derived for use in Australia. Estimated accuracy in Australia is about 200 metres over 50 km.
Method: (1) Enter the latitude & longitude of the two points (remember that south latitude & west longitude are negative) (2) Read the approximate ellipsoidal distance from A to B in km, from cell C11 (3) To see the intermediate values, use the spreadsheet tools to show the outline symbols and then ungroup the hidden rows and columns.

Page 2

Approx Ellipsoidal Distance

Page 3

You might also like