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The haversine formula determines the great-circle distance between two points on a sphere given their longitudes and latitudes. Important in navigation , it is a special case of a more general formula in spherical trigonometry , the law of haversines , that relates the sides and angles of spherical triangles.
A diagram illustrating great-circle distance (drawn in red) between two points on a sphere, P and Q. Two antipodal points, u and v are also shown.. The great-circle distance, orthodromic distance, or spherical distance is the distance between two points on a sphere, measured along the great-circle arc between them.
The haversine, in particular, was important in navigation because it appears in the haversine formula, which is used to reasonably accurately compute distances on an astronomic spheroid (see issues with the Earth's radius vs. sphere) given angular positions (e.g., longitude and latitude).
If the initial point is at the North or South pole, then the first equation is indeterminate. If the initial azimuth is due East or West, then the second equation is indeterminate. If the standard 2-argument arctangent atan2 function is used, then these values are usually handled correctly. [clarification needed]
Computes the great circle distance between two points, specified by the latitude and longitude, using the haversine formula. Template parameters [Edit template data] Parameter Description Type Status Latitude 1 lat1 1 Latitude of point 1 in decimal degrees Default 0 Number required Longitude 1 long1 2 Longitude of point 1 in decimal degrees Default 0 Number required Latitude 2 lat2 3 Latitude ...
Orthodromic course drawn on the Earth globe. Great-circle navigation or orthodromic navigation (related to orthodromic course; from Ancient Greek ορθός (orthós) 'right angle' and δρόμος (drómos) 'path') is the practice of navigating a vessel (a ship or aircraft) along a great circle.
These lunar distance calculations became substantially simpler in 1805, with the publication of tables using the Haversine formula by Josef de Mendoza y Ríos. [ 82 ] The advantage of using chronometers was that though astronomical observations were still needed to establish local time, the observations were simpler and less demanding of accuracy.
View from the Swabian Jura to the Alps. Geographical distance or geodetic distance is the distance measured along the surface of the Earth, or the shortest arch length.. The formulae in this article calculate distances between points which are defined by geographical coordinates in terms of latitude and longitude.