Computing Distances between Latitudes/Longitudes in One Step

Stephen P. Morse, San Francisco




From:
degrees minutes seconds
Latitude . of the Equator
Longitude . of Greenwich
   
decimal
Latitude
Longitude

To:
degrees minutes seconds
Latitude . of the Equator
Longitude . of Greenwich
   
decimal
Latitude
Longitude




    statute miles   nautical miles   kilometers
Distance (as the crow flies) 0.000   0.000   0.000   spherical earth
Distance (as the crow wobbles) 0.000   0.000   0.000   ellipsoidal earth
 
Compass Direction: ?
Compass direction shown above will be incorrect when crossing the poles or the dateline


Distance computations based on a spherical earth use the formula appearing at mathforum.org
Distance calculations based on an ellipsoidal earth use the formula developed by Thaddeus Vincenty

© Stephen P. Morse, 2008