Latitude and longitude are used to pinpoint locations on Earth. Latitude measures distance from the equator, while longitude measures distance from the Prime Meridian. Coordinates are written in degrees, minutes, and seconds, with latitude first. Important lines of latitude include the Equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and Arctic and Antarctic circles. Longitude is marked as East or West and varies in physical distance based on latitude. GPS receivers can easily determine precise coordinates.
Latitude and longitude are both measures people can use to find where they are on Earth. With very precise instruments, a person can pinpoint their location to within inches using latitude and longitude. The discovery and refinement of latitude and longitude were vital to early navigators and the principles continue to be used daily both at sea and on land. Finding out your precise latitude and longitude coordinates in the modern age is as easy as purchasing a global positioning satellite receiver, which can communicate with satellites on Earth to triangulate your location.
Both latitude and longitude have values represented in degrees. Degrees are sometimes called hours, and are further subdivided into minutes and seconds for a highly precise set of coordinates. When looking at a set of coordinates, the latitude is written first, followed by the longitude. Coordinates are read from left to right, starting with the number of degrees, followed by minutes and seconds. Minutes are denoted by a single apostrophe (‘) and seconds are delimited by a double apostrophe (‘). Finally, a letter will indicate whether the measurement is north, south, east or west.
Lines of latitude were established before longitude. Each minute of latitude is equal to one nautical mile, measured as 6,076 feet (1,852 meters). Latitude is an angular measurement that represents how far away from the equator someone is. At zero degrees latitude, someone is standing on the Equator. The numbers increase as the person travels north or south. Lines of latitude can be thought of as circles spanning the globe; the larger circle is at the equator and the smaller circles are at the poles.
Several lines of latitude are considered important enough to be named. The first is the Equator, at zero degrees. The second are the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, located respectively at 23° 26′ 21” North and South. Finally, the Arctic and Antarctic circles, at 66° 33′ 39” North and South. These lines of latitude represent important boundaries on the surface of the Earth that determine the seasons and weather in the areas they pass through.
Longitude measures a person’s distance from the Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England. By convention, a longitude coordinate indicates whether it is due east or due west. In some countries, a minus sign in front of a longitude coordinate indicates it is due west, while a plus sign indicates east. However, some confusion has arisen about this, so most people mark lines of longitude as East or West with an E or W after the coordinates.
Unlike latitude, the physical distance measured by a line of longitude varies with the latitude of the observer. Someone at zero latitude would be approximately sixty nautical miles, or sixty-nine nautical miles (111 kilometers) away from the prime meridian at one degree of longitude, while someone at the pole would be zero nautical miles away from the prime meridian at any degree of longitude, since the lines meet at the poles.
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