Astronomy Answers
Great Circles

All pictures on this page are contributions by Dr. Bernd Frassek.

1. A Great Circle

Fig. 1: Drawing of a Great Circle on a Sphere

• A great circle divides the surface of a sphere in two equal parts.
• A great circle is the largest circle that fits on the sphere.
• If you keep going straight across a sphere then you go along a great circle.
• A great circle has the same center C as the sphere that it lies on.
• The shortest route between two points, measured across the sphere, is part of a great circle

All meridians are great circles. Latitude circles other than the equator (for example circle B in the picture) are not great circles, for example because they are smaller than the equator, which is a great circle.

A great circle provides the shortest route if you travel at a fixed speed compared to the ground, and also (approximately) if your speed, though not fixed, is always much smaller than the rotation speed of the sphere at its equator. This does not hold, for example, for things that orbit around the Earth outside the atmosphere.

2. A Great Circle Through Two Known Points

Suppose that you want to draw the shortest route on a map between a city P₁ and a far-away other city P₂, and you know the geographical longitude and latitude of both cities. Then, you can calculate the coordinates of points on that route as follows:

1. Call the polar coordinates (longitude and latitude) of the first city l1 and b1, and those of the second city l2 and b2.
2. Fig. 2: Illustration of Transformation from Polar to Cartesian Coordinates
   
   Translate the polar coordinates of the first city P₁ to the corresponding cartesian coordinates x1, y1, z1 (see figure 2):

   (Eq. 1) x1 = cos l1 cos b1

   (Eq. 2) y1 = sin l1 cos b1

   (Eq. 3) z1 = sin b1

   and similarly for the second city P₂.

3. Fig. 3: Illustration of the Angular Distance Between P₁ and P₂
   
   Calculate the angular distance ψ (psi) between the two cities, as seen from the center of the Earth (see Figure 3):

   (Eq. 4) ψ = arccos(x1 x2 + y1 y2 + z1 z2)

4. Calculate the coordinates of the point P₃ on the great circle that is 90° from the first city P₁ in the direction of the second city P₂ (see Figure 3):

   (Eq. 5) x3 = (x2 − x1 cos ψ)/sin ψ

   and similarly with y or z in stead of x.

5. The cartesian coordinates of the points of the great circle are then, as a function of the angular distance φ (phi) from the first city:

   (Eq. 6) x = x1 cos φ + x3 sin φ

   and similarly with y or z in stead of x. If φ = 0, then you are in the first city. If φ = ψ, then you are in the second city.

6. You can now translate the cartesian coordinates x, y, z to polar coordinates l, b:

   (Eq. 7) b = arcsin(z)

   (Eq. 8) l = arctan(y,x)

   The arctan(y,x) with two arguments means that you must make sure that the answer is in the right quadrant. The correct answer is either arctan(y/x), or arctan(y/x) + 180°, and (in this case) you must select the solution that has x for its cosine and y for its sine (with the correct signs).

   Many computer languages and computer calculation programs have a two-argument version of the arc tangent function, and many calculators have a translation function from cartesian to polar coordinates that you can use for this.

Fig. 4: Great Circle Through Amsterdam and San Francisco

For example (Figure 4): Which point lies 1000 km from Amsterdam (P₁, 52°22' North, 4°54' East) on the shortest route to San Francisco (P₂, 37°46' North, 122°25' West), assuming that the Earth is a sphere with a radius of 6378 km? The distance per degree across the sphere is equal to the radius times π/180 = 0.017453292, so on Earth this is 111.317 km per degree. We find:

1. l1 = 4.9°; b1 = 52.37°; l2 = −122.42°; b2 = 37.77°
2. x1 = 0.6083285; y1 = 0.05215215; z1 = 0.7919701; x2 = −0.423791; y2 = −0.6672729; z2 = 0.6124933
3. ψ = 78.90289°, so San Francisco is 78.90289 * 111.317 = 8783 km from Amsterdam.
4. x3 = −0.5511833; y3 = −0.6902162; z3 = 0.4688268. This corresponds to b3 = 27.95817°; l3 = −128.6097°, which is a location in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, to the West of Mexico.
5. 1000 km corresponds to 1000⁄111.317 = 8.98335 degrees, so φ = 8.98335°. Then x = 0.5148008; y = −0.05626304; z = 0.8554617.
6. b = 58.81077°; l = −6.237153°. This is a location just to the North of Scotland.

3. Alternative

There is an alternative for formula 6, which does not require the calculation of the position of point 3:

(Eq. 9) x = (x1 sin(ψ − φ) + x2 sin φ)/sin ψ

and similarly with y or z instead of x. However, point 3 is necessary if you want to know other things about the great circle, as you'll see below.

4. A Great Circle in a Certain Direction Through a Known Point

Suppose you want to know where you go if you start from a particular town in a particular direction and keep going straight. We assume that you travel at a speed that is much smaller than the rotation speed of the Earth along the equator. You'll then travel along a great circle. You can calculate the coordinates of points along the route as follows:

1. Call the polar coordinates (longitude and latitude) of the city l1 and b1, and the direction in which you start γ, measured from south to west (so south = 0°, west = 90°, north = 180°, east = 270°).
2. Translate the polar coordinates of the city to the corresponding cartesian coordinates x1, y1, z1 according to formulas 1ff.
3. Calculate the cartesian coordinates xzuid, yzuid, zzuid of the corresponding south point with lsouth = l1; bsouth = b1 − 90° if b1 is positive (i.e., in the Northern hemisphere), and lsouth = l1 + 180°; bsouth = −90° − b1 if b1 is negative (i.e., in the southern hemisphere).
4. Calculate the cartesian coordinates xwest, ywest, zwest of the corresponding west point with lwest = l1 − 90°; bwest = 0.

5. Calculate the cartesian coordinates x3, y3, z3 of the great circle point at 90° from the city:

   (Eq. 10) x3 = xsouth cos γ + xwest sin γ

   and similarly with y or z instead of x.

6. Now use formulas 6 and 7ff to calculate the desired cartesian and polar coordinates.

5. The Northernmost and Southernmost Point of a Great Circle

Fig. 5: Northernmost and Southernmost Point on a Great Circle

Calculate the angular distance of the first city P₁ from the first special (northernmost or southernmost) point:

(Eq. 11) φ1 = arctan(z3/z1)

The angular distance of the second special point is 180° greater (or less, that is the same thing on a circle):

(Eq. 12) φ2 = φ1 + 180°

You can then use formula 6 to calculate the corresponding cartesian coordinates, and then formula 7ff to calculate the polar coordinates. It is not necessary to calculate the coordinates of the second special point, because it is at the exact opposite side of the planet from the first one, so its cartesian coordinates and its latitude are equal to those of the first point, times −1, and its longitude is 180° around the planet from the first special point.

6. The Equator Points of a Great Circle

Every great circle except for the equator intersects the equator in two points, called E₁ and E₂ in Figure 5. The longitudes of those points are 90° to the east and west of the northernmost and southernmost points of the great circle, of which the calculation is explained above.

7. Great Circle on a Topographic Map

Fig. 6: Great Circle on a Map

It is impossible to make a map of the world on which all great circles run straight, but it is possible to make a map on which some great circles run straight, for example all great circles through a single point. In Figure 6, all great circles through the North Pole and South Pole run straight: Those are the meridians. The equator is a great circle and it, too, runs straight through that map.

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Last updated: 2006-12-27