Excerpt from Latitude and Longitude Kathy Hufford
1 The earth is effectively a sphere, so how do we describe where a
point is on its surface? The most common way to locate points on
the surface of the Earth is by standard, geographic coordinates
called Latitude and longitude. These coordinates values are
measured in degrees, and represent angular distances calculated
from the center of the Earth
We can imagine the Earth as a sphere, with an axis around which it
spins. The ends of the axis are the North and South Poles. The
Equator is a line around the earth, an equal distance from both
Mórcator Projection
poles. The Equator is also the Latitude line given the value of 0
degrees. This means it is the starting point for measuring latitude. Latitude values indicate the angular distances between the
Equator and points north or south of it on the surface of the Earth
Here is a quote from Kepler: 'He provided himself with a cross-staff for determining the angular distance between stars or
other objects, and, finding the divisions of the scale inaccurate, constructed a table of corrections, an improvement that seems to
have been a decided innovation, the previous practice having been to use the best available instrument and ignore its errors."
What is the definition of angular distances that is used for calculating geographical coordinates? Consider sections 1, 2, and Kepler'e
quote
A)
8)
It is the angular distances that are the starting point for measuring
Latitude
It is the longitude values are indicating the angular distance between the
Prime Meridian and points east or west of it on the surface of the Earth
it is the distance from the Earth when divided equally into 360 degrees of
longitude, and there are 180 degrees of longitude to the east of the Prime
Meridian
It is the angular separation between two objects as perceived by an
observer as the observer perceives the distance made at the eye by lines
drawn from the eye to two objects
D)