Mathematics Number System and Arithmetic Alg

Spherical Trigonometry
Last Updated : 25 Jul, 2024

Spherical trigonometry is a branch of

geometry that deals with the study of
spherical triangles, which are triangles
drawn on the surface of a sphere. in this
article, we have covered the definition of
Spherical Trigonometry, some basic
concepts related to the same and others
in detail.

Table of Content
What is Spherical Trigonometry?
Basic Concepts of Spherical
Trigonometry
Spherical Triangle
Spherical Excess
Formulas and Theorems Related to
Spherical Trigonometry
Spherical Law of Cosines
Spherical Law of Sines
Applications of Spherical
Trigonometry
Examples on Spherical Trigonometry
Real-Life Examples on Spherical
Trigonometry

What is Spherical
Trigonometry?
The study of the relationships between
the sides and angles of triangles drawn
on a sphere's surface is known as
spherical trigonometry. By using
trigonometric concepts in non-planar
geometry, it deals with the
measurement and computation of
angles, distances, and areas on
spherical surfaces.

Spherical Trigonometry

Plane trigonometry, which deals with

triangles on flat surfaces, is not the
same as this field. The "sides" of
triangles in spherical trigonometry are
arcs of great circles on the surface of
the sphere, and the angles between
these arcs are determined at the spots
where they cross.

For large-scale distance and direction

computations on roughly spherical
bodies like the Earth, as well as for
astronomical computations and
navigation, spherical trigonometry is
especially crucial.

Basic Concepts of
Spherical Trigonometry
Some basic concepts of Spherical
Trigonometry include:

Spherical Triangle

A spherical triangle is a shape created

on a sphere's surface by three great
circle arcs meeting at each of its three
vertices pairwise. A few important facts
regarding spherical triangles are:

The sides are not lines; rather, they

are the arcs of huge circles.
Every side is quantified by its arc
length, which is commonly
represented as an angle at the
sphere's centre.
A spherical triangle's total angles are
always larger than 180° and less
than 540°.
Any two sides added together always
equal more than the third side.

Spherical Excess

A key idea in spherical trigonometry is

spherical excess. It is the amount that a
spherical triangle's three angles added
together surpass 180°.

Important spherical excess features are:

Spherical excess E of a spherical

triangle with angles A, B, and C is
equal to E = (A + B + C) - 180°.
Area of the spherical triangle is
directly correlated with the spherical
excess.
Both the triangle's size and the
sphere's radius affect how much of a
spherical excess there is.

Formulas and Theorems

Related to Spherical
Trigonometry
Various formulas and theorems related
to Spherical Trigonometry are:

Spherical Law of Cosines

This law relates the cosine of one side

of a spherical triangle to the cosines of
the other two sides and the sine of
those sides times the cosine of the
included angle.

For a spherical triangle with sides a, b,

and c, and angles A, B, and C opposite
these sides respectively, the law states:

cos(a) = cos(b)cos(c) +
sin(b)sin(c)cos(A)

This formula can be written in two other

equivalent forms by cyclic permutation
of the sides and angles:

cos(b) = cos(c)cos(a) +
sin(c)sin(a)cos(B)
cos(c) = cos(a)cos(b) +
sin(a)sin(b)cos(C)

There is also an alternative form relating

an angle to three sides:

cos(A) = -cos(B)cos(C) +
sin(B)sin(C)cos(a)

Spherical Law of Sines

This law states that the sines of the

angles of a spherical triangle are
proportional to the sines of the opposite
sides.

For a spherical triangle with sides a, b,

and c, and opposite angles A, B, and C,
the law states:

sin(A)/sin(a) = sin(B)/sin(b) =
sin(C)/sin(c)

Applications of Spherical
Trigonometry
Various application of Spherical
Trigonometry are in:

Navigation

Maritime navigation: Calculating

great circle routes for ships
Aviation: Determining flight paths and
distances between airports
GPS systems: Computing positions
and distances on Earth's surface

Astronomy
Calculating positions of celestial
bodies
Predicting eclipses and planetary
movements
Determining star rise and set times
Mapping constellations

Geodesy and Cartography

Measuring and mapping Earth's

surface
Creating accurate projections of the
globe onto flat maps
Surveying large areas of land or sea

Meteorology
Tracking the paths of storms and
hurricanes
Analyzing global wind patterns
Studying the distribution of climate
zones

Space Exploration

Planning satellite orbits

Calculating trajectories for space
missions
Determining optimal launch windows

Time Calculation

Computing sunrise and sunset times

Developing and adjusting calendars

Apart form those, there are various

applications of Spherical Trigonometry

Examples on Spherical
Trigonometry
Example 1: In a spherical triangle
ABC, if a = 60°, b = 75°, and C = 90°,
find angle A.

Solution:

Using the cosine formula for

angles:
cos A = (cos a - cos b cos c) / (sin
b sin c)
cos A = (cos 60° - cos 75° cos
90°) / (sin 75° sin 90°)
cos A = (0.5 - 0.2588 × 0) /
(0.9659 × 1)
cos A = 0.5176
A ≈ 58.86°

Example 2: In a spherical triangle, if a

= 30°, b = 45°, and c = 60°, find angle
A.

Solution:

Using the cosine formula for

angles:
cos A = (cos a - cos b cos c) / (sin
b sin c)
cos A = (cos 30° - cos 45° cos
60°) / (sin 45° sin 60°)
cos A = (0.8660 - 0.7071 × 0.5) /
(0.7071 × 0.8660)
cos A = 0.7500
A ≈ 41.41°

Example 3: In a spherical triangle

ABC, if A = 60°, B = 90°, and c = 45°,
find side a.

Solution:

Using the sine formula:

sin a / sin A = sin c / sin C
sin a = (sin c × sin A) / sin C
sin a = (sin 45° × sin 60°) / sin
90°
sin a = (0.7071 × 0.8660) / 1
sin a = 0.6124
a ≈ 37.76°

Example 4: In a spherical triangle, if a

= 60°, b = 60°, and C = 60°, find angle
A.

Solution:

Due to symmetry, A = B = 60°.

This is an equilateral spherical
triangle.
Question 5: In a spherical right
triangle (C = 90°), if a = 30° and b
= 45°, find angle A.
Solution 5: Using Napier's rules
for right spherical triangles:
tan A = tan a / sin b
tan A = tan 30° / sin 45°
tan A = 0.5774 / 0.7071
tan A = 0.8165
A ≈ 39.23°

Example 6: In a spherical triangle

ABC, if A = 120°, B = 60°, and c = 90°,
find side a.

Solution:

Using the cosine formula for

sides:
cos a = cos b cos c + sin b sin c
cos A
cos a = cos 90° cos 90° + sin 90°
sin 90° cos 120°
cos a = 0 + 1 × (-0.5)
cos a = -0.5
a = arccos(-0.5) ≈ 120°
Example 7: In a spherical right
triangle (C = 90°), if b = 60° and c
= 45°, find angle A.
Solution:
Using Napier's rules for right
spherical triangles:
cos A = tan b cot c
cos A = tan 60° × cot 45°
cos A = 1.7321 × 1
cos A = 1.7321
A = arccos(1.7321) ≈ 0° (Note:
This is not possible in a real
spherical triangle, indicating an
issue with the given values)

Example 7: In a spherical triangle

ABC, if a = 80°, b = 70°, and C = 100°,
find angle B.

Solution:

Using the sine formula:

sin B / sin b = sin C / sin c
sin B = (sin b × sin C) / sin c
First, we need to find c using the
cosine formula:
cos c = cos a cos b + sin a sin b
cos C
cos c = cos 80° cos 70° + sin 80°
sin 70° cos 100°
cos c ≈ 0.1736 c ≈ 80.01°
Now we can solve for B:
sin B = (sin 70° × sin 100°) / sin
80.01°
sin B ≈ 0.9397
B ≈ 70.24°

Example 8: In a spherical triangle, if

A = 60°, B = 75°, and c = 50°, find side
a.

Solution:

Using the sine formula:

sin a / sin A = sin c / sin C
sin a = (sin A × sin c) / sin C
We need to find C first using the
cosine formula for angles:
cos C = -cos A cos B + sin A sin B
cos c
cos C = -cos 60° cos 75° + sin
60° sin 75° cos 50°
cos C ≈ 94.92°
Now we can solve for a:
sin a = (sin 60° × sin 50°) / sin
94.92°
a ≈ 41.52°

Real-Life Examples on
Spherical Trigonometry
A real world examples of using
Spherical Trigonometry is:

Example: Great Circle

Navigation

Suppose a pilot needs to fly from

New York City (40.7°N, 74.0°W) to
Tokyo (35.7°N, 139.8°E). We want to
find:

The shortest distance between

these cities (along a great circle)
Initial bearing (direction) from New
York to Tokyo

Step 1: Convert the Locations

to Radians
New York: φ1 = 40.7° × π/180 =
0.7101 radians,
λ1 = -74.0° × π/180 = -1.2915
radians
Tokyo: φ2 = 35.7° × π/180 =
0.6230 radians,
λ2 = 139.8° × π/180 = 2.4400
radians
Step 2: Calculate the central
angle (Δσ) using the spherical
law of cosines
cos(Δσ) = sin(φ1)sin(φ2) +
cos(φ1)cos(φ2)cos(λ2 - λ1)
Δσ =
arccos{sin(0.7101)sin(0.6230) +
cos(0.7101)cos(0.6230)cos(2.440
0 - (-1.2915))}
Δσ ≈ 1.9853 radians
Step 3: Calculate Distance (d)
Assuming Earth's radius (R) is
6371 km:
d = R × Δσ
d ≈ 6371 × 1.9853 ≈ 12,647 km
Step 4: Calculate Initial Bearing
(θ)
θ = arctan(sin(λ2-λ1)cos(φ2),
cos(φ1)sin(φ2) -
sin(φ1)cos(φ2)cos(λ2-λ1))
θ ≈ 0.5951 radians
Convert to degrees: 0.5951 ×
180/π ≈ 34.1°

Results:

Shortest distance between

New York City and Tokyo is
approximately 12,647 km.
Initial bearing from New York
to Tokyo is approximately
34.1° (measured clockwise
from due North).

FAQs on Spherical
Trigonometry

What is Spherical
Trigonometry?

Spherical Trigonometry is the

branch of mathematics that deals
with the relationships between
sides and angles of triangles on
the surface of a sphere.

What is a Great Circle?

Great Circle is the intersection of

a sphere with a plane passing
through the sphere's center,
representing the shortest path
between two points on a sphere.

How is Spherical Trigonometry

used in Navigation?

Spherical Trigonometry is used to

calculate distances, bearings, and
routes for ships and aircraft
traveling long distances on the
Earth's surface.

What is the Polar Triangle?

Polar Triangle is a triangle on a

sphere formed by the poles of the
great circles containing the sides
of another spherical triangle.

Are there Right Angles in

Spherical Triangles?

Yes, spherical right triangles exist

and have special properties, often
simplified using Napier's rules.

How does Spherical Excess

relate to Area of a Spherical
Triangle?

Spherical excess (sum of angles

minus 180°) is proportional to the
area of the spherical triangle.

What are Real-World

Applications of Spherical
Trigonometry?

Some real-world applications of

Spherical Trigonometry includes,
navigation, astronomy, geodesy,
cartography, and global
positioning systems (GPS).

How does Shape of Earth Affect

Calculations in Spherical
Trigonometry?

While the Earth isn't a perfect

sphere, spherical trigonometry
provides good approximations for
many practical purposes. For
highest precision, the Earth's
ellipsoidal shape is considered.

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