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Informally, specifying a geographic location usually means giving the location's latitude and longitude. The numerical values for latitude and longitude can occur in a number of different units or formats: [2] sexagesimal degree: degrees, minutes, and seconds : 40° 26′ 46″ N 79° 58′ 56″ W; degrees and decimal minutes: 40° 26.767′ N ...
Decimal degrees are an alternative to using sexagesimal degrees (degrees, minutes, and seconds - DMS notation). As with latitude and longitude, the values are bounded by ±90° and ±180° respectively. Positive latitudes are north of the equator, negative latitudes are south of the equator.
Latitude and longitude should be displayed by sexagesimal fractions (i.e. minutes and seconds). When minutes and seconds are less than ten, leading zeroes should be shown. Degree, minutes and seconds should be followed by the symbols ° ( U+00B0 ), ′ ( U+2032 ), and ″ ( U+2033 ), without spaces between the number and symbol.
Degrees, minutes and seconds, when used, must each be separated by a pipe ("|"). Map datum must be WGS84 if possible (except for off-Earth bodies). Avoid excessive precision (0.0001° is <11 m, 1″ is <31 m). Maintain consistency of decimal places or minutes/seconds between latitude and longitude. Latitude (N/S) must appear before longitude (E/W).
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).
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.
Resources for determining your latitude and longitude Archived 2008-05-19 at the Wayback Machine; Convert decimal degrees into degrees, minutes, seconds. Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine – info about decimal to sexagesimal conversion. Convert decimal degrees into degrees, minutes, seconds
Input degrees can be signed in which case the hemisphere is not required. A negative value implies a value in the western or southern hemisphere. Minutes and seconds need not be specified. If no degrees are specified then a value of zero is assumed. This template does not attempt to trap invalid values and results in this case might be undefined.