Longitude in geography. Geodetic coordinate system. Polar coordinate system

Since the time of man's access to the seas, the need to determine longitude and latitude has been a vital human skill. Epochs changed, and man became able to determine the cardinal directions in any weather. New methods of determining one's position were required.

The captain of a Spanish galleon in the eighteenth century knew exactly where the ship was thanks to the position of the stars in the night sky. A 19th-century traveler could detect deviations from the established route in the forest by natural clues.

Now it’s the twenty-first century and many have lost the knowledge gained from geography lessons. Android or iPhone smartphones can serve as a tool, but they can never replace the knowledge and ability to determine your location.

What is latitude and longitude in geography

Determination of geographical coordinates

Apps that users install on iPhone read location coordinates to provide services or data based on where a person is located. After all, if a subscriber is in Russia, then there is no reason for him to read sites on English language. Everything happens in the background.

While the average user will never deal with GPS coordinates, knowing how to obtain and read them can be valuable. In some cases, they can save lives when there is no card nearby.

At any geographical system There are two indicators: latitude and longitude. Geodata from a smartphone shows exactly where the user is located relative to the equator.

How to determine the latitude and longitude of your location

Let's consider two options for determining geographic coordinates:

  1. Via Android the simplest is the Google Maps application, perhaps the most comprehensive collection geographical maps in one application. After starting the application Google maps The location on the road map will be pinpointed so that the user can get the best possible understanding of the surrounding area. The app also offers an extensive list of features, including real-time GPS navigation, traffic status and transit information, as well as detailed information about nearby places, including popular food and recreation spots, photos and reviews.
  2. Via iPhone You won't need any third party app to view latitude and longitude data. The location is determined only with the maps application. To find out the current coordinates, just launch “maps”. Tap the arrow on the right top corner screen, then click on the blue dot - this indicates the location of the phone and the user. Next, we swipe up the screen, and now the user can see the GPS coordinates. Unfortunately, there is no way to copy these coordinates, but you can get similar data.

To copy them you will need another Compass application. It's already installed on your iPhone and you can use it right away.

To view latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates in the Compass app, simply launch and find the data at the bottom.

Determining the geographical coordinates of Moscow

For this:

  1. Opening the cards search engine yandex.
  2. In the address bar, enter the name of our capital “Moscow”.
  3. The city center (Kremlin) opens and under the name of the country we find the numbers 55.753215, 37.622504 - these are the coordinates, that is, 55.753215 north latitude and 37.622504 east longitude.

Throughout the world, GPS coordinates are determined by latitude and longitude according to the wgs-84 coordinate system.

In all situations, the latitude coordinate is a point relative to the equator, and the longitude coordinate is a point relative to the meridian of the British Royal Observatory at Greenwich, in the UK. This defines two important parameters geography online.

Finding the latitude and longitude of St. Petersburg

To consolidate the skill, we will repeat the same algorithm of actions, but for the Northern capital:

  1. Open Yandex cards.
  2. We write down the name of the northern capital “St. Petersburg”.
  3. The result of the request will be a panorama of Palace Square and the required coordinates 59.939095, 30.315868.

Coordinates of Russian cities and world capitals in the table

Cities of Russia Latitude Longitude
Moscow 55.753215 37.622504
Saint Petersburg 59.939095 30.315868
Novosibirsk 55.030199 82.920430
Ekaterinburg 56.838011 60.597465
Vladivostok 43.115536 131.885485
Yakutsk 62.028103 129.732663
Chelyabinsk 55.159897 61.402554
Kharkiv 49.992167 36.231202
Smolensk 54.782640 32.045134
Omsk 54.989342 73.368212
Krasnoyarsk 56.010563 92.852572
Rostov 57.185866 39.414526
Bryansk 53.243325 34.363731
Sochi 43.585525 39.723062
Ivanovo 57.000348 40.973921
Capitals of world states Latitude Longitude
Tokyo 35.682272 139.753137
Brasilia -15.802118 -47.889062
Kyiv 50.450458 30.523460
Washington 38.891896 -77.033788
Cairo 30.065993 31.266061
Beijing 39.901698 116.391433
Delhi 28.632909 77.220026
Minsk 53.902496 27.561481
Berlin 52.519405 13.406323
Wellington -41.297278 174.776069

Reading GPS data or where negative numbers come from

The object's geographic positioning system has changed several times. Now, thanks to it, you can quite accurately determine the distance to the desired object and find out the coordinates.

Ability to show location - a vital necessity during search activities of rescue services. Different situations happen with travelers, tourists or extreme sports enthusiasts. That's when it's important high accuracy when a person is on the verge of life, and the minutes count.

Now, dear reader, having such knowledge, you may have questions. There are many of them, but even from the table one of the most interesting emerges - why is the number negative? Let's figure it out.

GPS, when translated into Russian, sounds like this – “global positioning system”. We remember that the distance to the desired geographical feature(city, village, village, etc.) is calculated according to two landmarks on the globe: the equator and the observatory in London.

At school they talked about latitude and longitude, but in Yandex maps they are replaced with the left and right parts of the code. If the navigator shows positive values, then you are going in a northerly direction. Otherwise, the numbers become negative, indicating southern latitude.

The same goes for longitude. Positive values ​​are eastern longitude, and negative values ​​are western longitude.

For example, the coordinates of the Lenin Library in Moscow: 55°45’08.1″N 37°36’36.9″E. It reads like this: “55 degrees 45 minutes and 08.1 seconds north latitude and 37 degrees 36 minutes and 36.9 seconds east longitude” (data from Google maps).

It is possible to determine the location of a point on planet Earth, as on any other spherical planet, using geographic coordinates - latitude and longitude. The intersections of circles and arcs at right angles create a corresponding grid, which allows you to unambiguously determine the coordinates. A good example– an ordinary school globe, lined horizontal circles and vertical arcs. How to use the globe will be discussed below.

This system is measured in degrees (degree of angle). The angle is calculated strictly from the center of the sphere to a point on the surface. Relative to the axis, the degree of latitude angle is calculated vertically, longitude - horizontally. To calculate exact coordinates, there are special formulas, where another quantity is often found - height, which serves mainly to represent three-dimensional space and allows calculations to be made to determine the position of a point relative to sea level.

Latitude and longitude - terms and definitions

The earth's sphere is divided by an imaginary horizontal line into two equal parts of the world - the northern and southern hemispheres - into positive and negative poles, respectively. This is how the definitions of northern and southern latitudes were introduced. Latitude is represented as circles parallel to the equator, called parallels. The equator itself, with a value of 0 degrees, acts as the starting point for measurements. The closer the parallel is to the upper or lower pole, the smaller its diameter and the higher or lower the angular degree. For example, the city of Moscow is located at 55 degrees north latitude, which determines the location of the capital as approximately equidistant from both the equator and the north pole.

Meridian is the name of longitude, represented as a vertical arc strictly perpendicular to the circles of parallel. The sphere is divided into 360 meridians. The reference point is the prime meridian (0 degrees), the arcs of which run vertically through the points of the north and south poles and extend in the east and west directions. This determines the angle of longitude from 0 to 180 degrees, calculated by the values ​​from the center to extreme points to the east or south.

Unlike latitude, the reference point of which is the equatorial line, any meridian can be the zero meridian. But for convenience, namely the convenience of counting time, the Greenwich meridian was determined.

Geographic coordinates – place and time

Latitude and longitude allow you to assign a precise geographic address, measured in degrees, to a particular place on the planet. Degrees, in turn, are divided into smaller units such as minutes and seconds. Each degree is divided into 60 parts (minutes), and a minute into 60 seconds. Using Moscow as an example, the entry looks like this: 55° 45′ 7″ N, 37° 36′ 56″ E or 55 degrees, 45 minutes, 7 seconds north latitude and 37 degrees, 36 minutes, 56 seconds south longitude.

The interval between the meridians is 15 degrees and about 111 km along the equator - this is the distance the Earth, rotating, travels in one hour. It takes 24 hours to complete a full rotation of a day.

We use the globe

The model of the Earth is accurately depicted on the globe with realistic depictions of all continents, seas and oceans. Parallels and meridians are drawn on the globe map as auxiliary lines. Almost any globe has a crescent-shaped meridian in its design, which is installed on the base and serves as an auxiliary measure.

The meridian arc is equipped with a special degree scale by which latitude is determined. Longitude can be found out using another scale - a hoop mounted horizontally at the equator. By marking the desired location with your finger and rotating the globe around its axis to the auxiliary arc, we fix the latitude value (depending on the location of the object, it will be either north or south). Then we mark the data on the equator scale at the point of its intersection with the meridian arc and determine the longitude. You can find out whether it is eastern or southern longitude only relative to the prime meridian.

The ability to “read” a map is a very interesting and useful activity. Today, when with the help of innovative technologies you can virtually visit any corner of the world, possession of such skills is very rare. Geographic latitude is studied in the school curriculum, but without constant practice it cannot be consolidated theoretical knowledge received in a general education course. Cartographic skills not only develop imagination, but are also a necessary basis for many complex disciplines. Those wishing to acquire the profession of navigator, surveyor, architect and military officer simply need to know the basic principles of working with a map and plan. Determining geographic latitude is a must-have skill for an amateur real travel and just an educated person.

globe

Before moving on to the magnitude algorithm, it is necessary to become more familiar with the globe and map. Because it is on them that you will have to train your skills. A globe is a small model of our Earth, which depicts its surface. The author of the very first model is considered to be M. Behaim, the creator of the famous “Earth Apple” in the 15th century. The history of the development of cartographic knowledge also contains information about other famous globes.

  • Multi-touch. This interactive model is a modern invention that allows you to “visit” anywhere in the world without spending a lot of time and effort!
  • Heavenly. This globe shows the location of cosmic luminaries - mirrored. After all, when we admire the beautiful night sky, we are “inside” the dome, but we are forced to look at this globe from the outside!
  • One of the collectors, Sh. Missine, has a globe carved from an ostrich egg. This is one of the very first maps of this continent.

You can accurately determine geographic latitude on a globe, because it has the least distortion. But for greater reliability it is necessary to use a special flexible ruler.

Cards

A globe is not very convenient to take with you on a trip, and it becomes more useless the smaller its size. And over time, people began to use the card. It, of course, has more errors, since it is very difficult to reliably depict the convex shape of the Earth on a sheet of paper, but it is more convenient and easy to use. Maps have several classifications, but we will focus on their differences in scale, since we are talking about acquiring skills in determining coordinates.

  • Large scale. This is the name for drawings with a scale (M) from 1:100,000 to 1:10,000. If the map has an M of 1:5,000 and is larger, then it is already called a plan.
  • Medium-scale. This is the name for drawings of the Earth's surface, which have a MM from 1:1,000,000 to 1:200,000.
  • Small scale. These are drawings with M 1:1,000,000 and less, for example - MM 1:2,000,000, 1:50,000,000, etc.

On a large-scale map, geographic latitude is most easily determined, since the image is plotted on it in more detail. This occurs due to the fact that the grid lines are located at a short distance.

Geographic latitude

This is the name given to the angle between the zero parallel and the plumb line at a given point. The resulting value can only be within 90 degrees. It is important to remember: the equator divides our Earth into southern and therefore the latitude of all points of the Earth that are located above will be northern, and below - southern. How to determine the geographic latitude of an object? You need to carefully look at which parallel it is located. If it is not marked, then it is necessary to calculate what the distance is between adjacent lines and determine the degree of the desired parallel.

Geographic longitude

This is the meridian of a specific point on the Earth and which is called Greenwich. All objects located to the right of it are considered eastern, and to the left - western. Longitude shows on which meridian the desired object is located. If the point being determined is not on the meridian indicated on the map, then we proceed in the same way as in the case of determining the desired parallel.

Geographical address

Any object on our Earth has it. The intersection of parallels and meridians on a map or globe is called a grid (degree), from which the coordinates of the desired point are determined. Knowing them, you can not only determine the place where the object is located, but also correlate its position with others. Having information about the geographic address of a specific point, you can correctly draw the boundaries of territories on contour maps.

Five major latitudes

On any map, the main parallels are highlighted, which make it easier to determine coordinates. The territories that are located between these main latitudinal lines, depending on the location, may be included in the following areas: polar, tropics, equatorial and temperate.

  • The equator is the longest parallel. The length of lines located above or below it becomes shorter towards the poles. What is the geographic latitude of the equator? It is equal to 0 degrees, since it is considered the reference point of parallels to the north and south. Territories that are located from the equator to the tropics are called equatorial regions.

  • The Northern Tropic is the main parallel, which is always marked on world maps of the Earth. It is located 23 degrees 26 minutes and 16 seconds north of the equator. Another name for this parallel is the Tropic of Cancer.
  • The Tropic of the South is a parallel located 23 degrees 26 minutes and 16 seconds south of the equator. It also has a second name - Tropic of Capricorn. The areas that are located between these lines and the equator are called tropical regions.
  • located above the equator at 66 degrees 33 minutes and 44 seconds. It limits the territory beyond which the time of night increases; closer to the pole it reaches 40 days.

  • Southern Arctic Circle. Its latitude is 66 degrees 33 minutes and 44 seconds. This parallel is also the boundary beyond which phenomena such as polar night and day begin. The territories that are located between these lines and the tropics are called temperate regions, and beyond them are called polar regions.

Latitude- the angle between the local zenith direction and the equatorial plane, measured from 0 to 90 on both sides of the equator. The geographic latitude of points located in the northern hemisphere (northern latitude) is usually considered positive, the latitude of points in the southern hemisphere is considered negative. In addition, it is customary to talk about latitudes that are larger in absolute value - as high, and about those close to zero (that is, to the equator) - as about low.

Longitude

Longitude- the angle between the plane of the meridian passing through a given point and the plane of the initial prime meridian, from which longitude is calculated. Now on Earth the prime meridian is the one that passes through the old observatory in the city of Greenwich, and therefore it is called the Greenwich meridian. Longitudes from 0 to 180° east of the prime meridian are called eastern, and to the west - western. Eastern longitudes are considered to be positive, western longitudes are considered negative. It should be emphasized that, unlike latitude, for a system of longitudes the choice of the origin (prime meridian) is arbitrary and depends only on agreement. So, in addition to Greenwich, the meridians of the observatories of Paris, Cadiz, Pulkovo (on the territory of the Russian Empire), etc. were previously chosen as the zero meridians.

Height

To completely determine the position of a point three-dimensional space, a third coordinate is needed - height. The distance to the center of the planet is not used in geography: it is convenient only when describing very deep regions of the planet or, on the contrary, when calculating orbits in space.

Within geographic envelope usually used height above sea level, measured from the level of the “smoothed” surface - geoid. Such system of three coordinates turns out to be orthogonal, which simplifies a number of calculations. Altitude above sea level is also convenient because it is related to atmospheric pressure.

Distance from the earth's surface (up or down) is often used to describe a place, however Not serves coordinate due to the unevenness of the surface.

Links

  • Geographic coordinates of all cities on Earth (English)
  • Geographic coordinates of populated areas on Earth (1) (English)
  • Geographic coordinates of populated areas on Earth (2) (English)

see also

Wikimedia Foundation.

2010.

    See what “Geographic latitude” is in other dictionaries:

    - (Latitude) geographic coordinate, which serves together with longitude to determine the position of a point on the earth’s surface. It is the angle between the plane of the equator and a plumb line passing through a given point, measured along the meridian from ... Marine Dictionary See Geographical coordinates. Geological dictionary : in 2 volumes. M.: Nedra. Edited by K. N. Paffengoltz et al. 1978 ...

    Geological encyclopedia latitude (geographical)

    - - [[English-Russian dictionary of abbreviations of transport forwarding and commercial terms and expressions FIATA]] Subjects of transport forwarding services EN Lat.lat.latitude …- one of two coordinates that determines the position of a point on the Earth’s surface relative to the equatorial plane. Measured from the equator in degrees, i.e. from 0° to 90°, and in the Northern Hemisphere is called northern latitude (has a plus sign), and in the Southern ... ... Marine Biographical Dictionary Wikipedia

    geographic latitude- The angle between the equatorial plane and the normal to the surface of the earth's ellipsoid at a given point. Note Geographic latitude is measured by the arc of the meridian from the equator to the parallel of a given point. Counting is carried out from 0 to 90° in the north and south... ... Technical Translator's Guide

    geographic latitude- The angular distance of any point on the Earth’s surface along the meridian, measured south and north of the equator in degrees, minutes and seconds in accordance with the angle of a given latitudinal parallel from 0° to 90°. Syn.: latitude of the area... Dictionary of Geography

Determination of geographic latitude from astronomical observations

The abstract was completed by Belaya Ekaterina

11th grade

Determination of geographic latitude in ancient times. In ancient times, and especially during the era of the Great geographical discoveries, determining the coordinates of the place was a necessary and primary task. Each ship had an astronomer who, using simple instruments, was able to determine the latitude and longitude of the ship's location.

For a long time, to determine coordinates, they used a Jacobsstab - a tool that is a long graduated bar equipped with a shorter movable transverse crossbar. When sighting, it was necessary to place the end of the bar to the eye, and move the crossbar until its lower end touched the horizon, and the upper end touched the given star or Sun. In this way, the height of the star was determined, and with its help, the latitude of the place and time. The Jacobshtab was used until the middle of the 18th century, until it was supplanted by the mirror sextant - an astronomical goniometric instrument consisting of a telescope, two mirrors, filters and a scale. The sextant was so important for sailors that it was even placed in the sky, calling a constellation with this word.

System of geographical coordinates on the Earth's surface. The globe is divided by the plane of the equator into two equal hemispheres – the Northern and Southern. The plane of the equator is perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation. The axis of rotation intersects with earth's surface at the North and South Poles of the Earth.

If you mentally cross the globe with planes parallel to the equator, you get circles - parallels. The globe can be mentally crossed by planes perpendicular to the equator and passing through the earth's axis, which are called meridian planes, and the lines formed by their intersection with the surface globe are called meridians. Any point on the surface of the globe can be specified by two coordinates. One coordinate is called longitude and is measured from the conventionally accepted zero meridian passing through the Greenwich Observatory. The second coordinate is called latitude and is measured from the earth's equator to the poles.

The height of the celestial pole above the horizon. The height of the celestial pole above the horizon is h p =ÐPCN, and the geographic latitude of the place is j=ÐCOR. These two angles (ÐPCN and ÐCOR) are equal as angles with mutually perpendicular sides: [OC]^ ,^. The equality of these angles gives the simplest way determining the geographic latitude of the area j: the angular distance of the celestial pole from the horizon is equal to the geographic latitude of the area. To determine the geographic latitude of an area, it is enough to measure the height of the celestial pole above the horizon, since:

Daily movement of the stars at different latitudes. As the geographic latitude of the observation site changes, the orientation of the celestial sphere's rotation axis relative to the horizon changes. It is necessary to consider what the visible movements of the celestial bodies will be in the area of ​​the North Pole, at the equator and at the mid-latitudes of the Earth.

At the Earth's pole, the celestial pole is at the zenith, and the stars move in circles parallel to the horizon. Here the stars do not set or rise, their height above the horizon is constant.

At mid-latitudes, there are both rising and setting stars, as well as those that never fall below the horizon. For example, circumpolar constellations never set at the geographic latitudes of the USSR. Constellations farther from the north celestial pole appear briefly above the horizon. And the constellations lying near the south pole of the world are non-ascending.

For an observer at the equator, all stars rise and set perpendicular to the horizon. Each star here passes exactly half of its path above the horizon. For him, the North Pole of the world coincides with the point of north, and South Pole world - with the point of the south. The world axis is located in the horizontal plane.

The height of the luminaries at their climax. The celestial pole, with the apparent rotation of the sky, reflecting the rotation of the earth around its axis, occupies a constant position above the horizon at a given latitude. Over the course of a day, the stars describe circles above the horizon around the axis of the world, parallel to the celestial equator. Moreover, each luminary crosses the celestial meridian twice per day.

The phenomena of the passage of luminaries through the celestial meridian are called culminations. At the upper culmination the height of the luminary is maximum, at the lower culmination it is minimum. The time interval between climaxes is half a day.

For the luminary M, which does not set at a given latitude j, both culminations are visible; for stars that rise and set, the lower culmination occurs under the horizon, below the north point. For the luminary M4, located far south of the celestial equator, both culminations may be invisible.

The moment of the upper culmination of the center of the Sun is called true noon, and the moment of the lower culmination is called true midnight.

Let us find the relationship between the height h of the luminary M at the upper culmination, its declination d and the latitude of the area j. ZZ / - plumb line, PP / - axis of the world, QQ / - projection of the celestial equator, NS - horizon line to the plane of the celestial meridian (PZSP / N).

The height of the celestial pole above the horizon is equal to the geographic latitude of the place, i.e. h p = j. Consequently, the angle between the noon line NS and the world axis PP / is equal to the latitude of the area j, i.e. ÐPON=h p = j. Obviously, the inclination of the plane of the celestial equator to the horizon, measured by ÐQOS, will be equal to 90 0 - j, since ÐQOZ=ÐPON are like angles with mutually perpendicular sides. Then the star M with declination d, culminating south of the zenith, has a height at its upper culmination

h=90 o - j + d.

From this formula it is clear that geographic latitude can be determined by measuring the altitude of any star with a known declination d at the upper culmination. It should be taken into account that if the star at the moment of culmination is located south of the equator, then its declination is negative.