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degrees and decimal minutes: 40° 26.767′ N 79° 58.933′ W; decimal degrees: +40.446 -79.982; There are 60 minutes in a degree and 60 seconds in a minute. Therefore, to convert from a degrees minutes seconds format to a decimal degrees format, one may use the formula
{{Deg2DMS |positive decimal degrees| p =precision| sup =ms}} |p= is optional and defaults to 3. It is the number of decimal digits that the seconds are rounded to. |sup= is optional and changes the default apostrophe-format for arcminutes and arcseconds (1° 2′ 3″) to the m-s-format for arcminutes and arcseconds (1° 2 m 3 s).
The concepts of degrees, minutes, and seconds—as they relate to the measure of both angles and time—derive from Babylonian astronomy and time-keeping. Influenced by the Sumerians , the ancient Babylonians divided the Sun's perceived motion across the sky over the course of one full day into 360 degrees.
This notation leads to the modern signs for degrees, minutes, and seconds. The same minute and second nomenclature is also used for units of time, and the modern notation for time with hours, minutes, and seconds written in decimal and separated from each other by colons may be interpreted as a form of sexagesimal notation.
In order to calculate the position line, the time of the sight must be known so that the celestial position i.e. the Greenwich Hour Angle (Celestial Longitude - measured in a westerly direction from Greenwich) and Declination (Celestial Latitude - measured north or south of the equational or celestial equator), of the observed celestial body is ...
Degrees, therefore, are subdivided as follows: 360 degrees (°) in a full circle; 60 arc-minutes (′) in one degree; 60 arc-seconds (″) in one arc-minute; To put this in perspective, the full Moon as viewed from Earth is about 1 ⁄ 2 °, or 30 ′ (or 1800″). The Moon's motion across the sky can be measured in angular size: approximately ...
Decimal degrees (DD) is a notation for expressing latitude and longitude geographic coordinates as decimal fractions of a degree. DD are used in many geographic information systems (GIS), web mapping applications such as OpenStreetMap, and GPS devices. Decimal degrees are an alternative to using degrees-minutes-seconds notation. As with ...
It is measured in degrees, minutes and seconds, or decimal degrees, north or south of the equator. For navigational purposes positions are given in degrees and decimal minutes. For instance, The Needles lighthouse is at 50°39.734′ N 001°35.500′ W. [2]