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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.
The lines from pole to pole are lines of constant longitude, or meridians. The circles parallel to the Equator are circles of constant latitude, or parallels. The graticule shows the latitude and longitude of points on the surface. In this example, meridians are spaced at 6° intervals and parallels at 4° intervals.
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.
The graticule shows the latitude and longitude of points on the surface. In this example meridians are spaced at 6° intervals and parallels at 4° intervals. In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body.
The precise standard meanings of latitude, longitude and altitude are currently defined by the World Geodetic System (WGS), and take into account the flattening of the Earth at the poles (about 21 km or 13 miles) and many other details. Planetary coordinate systems use formulations analogous to the geographic coordinate system.
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).
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.
The following table lists the common coordinate systems in use by the astronomical community. The fundamental plane divides the celestial sphere into two equal hemispheres and defines the baseline for the latitudinal coordinates, similar to the equator in the geographic coordinate system.