Size and Shape of the Earth

Preparation of all but the largest scale maps, where a flat Earth can be assumed without
significant error, demands accurate knowledge of the size and shape of the Earth. The
notion that the Earth is spherical in shape was developed by the ancient Greeks. One of
the earliest determinations of the size of the Earth, based on the assumption that it was a
perfect sphere, was made by Eratosthenes in the second century B.C. Eratosthenes knew
that at the summer solstice, the noon sun is directly overhead on the Tropic of Cancer. He
determined that the town of Syene (near present-day Aswan, Egypt) was on the Tropic of
Cancer because vertical shadows were cast there at the summer solstice. He also observed
that at the summer solstice, angled shadows were cast at Alexandria which is located
north of Syene on approximately the same meridian. He measured the angle of this
shadow and found it to be 7.2 degrees, or about 1/50 of a full circle. He measured (or
possibly estimated) the distance between Alexandria and Syene at 5000 stadia and
therefore determined that the circumference of the Earth was 50 times 5000 or 250,000
stadia. Given modern estimates of the length of a stadia, this is remarkably close to the
Earth's equatorial circumference of 40,075 km.
Eratosthenes Measurement of the Size of the Earth

In the 17th century, Isaac Newton deduced from theoretical considerations that the Earth
was slightly flattened at the poles and bulged slightly at the Equator, due to the Earth's
rotation on its axis. This was subsequently confirmed by field observations. The Earth;s
equatorial radius is approximately 22 km longer than its polar radius. One consequence of
this is that the length of one degree of latitude varies slightly depending on the distance
from the Equator or the poles.
Circle vs Ellipsoid

Dimensions of the Earth

Polar radius

6,356.6 km

Equatorial radius

6,378.2 km

Equatorial circumference

40,075 km

Surface area

510,900,000 sq. km

Spherical Co-ordinates
Geographic co-ordinates are based on the Earth's axis of rotation and the plane of the
Equator. Locations on the Earth's surface are represented by latitude and longitude.
Parallels of latitude measure angular distance north or south of the equator, ranging from
0 degrees at the Equator to 90 degrees at the north and south poles. Meridians of
longitude measure angular distance east or west of the prime meridian which runs
through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. Longitude ranges from 180
degrees west to 180 degrees east. The network of meridians and parallels is referred to as
the graticule.
Latitude and Longitude

Length of 1 Degree of Latitude

If the Earth were perfectly spherical in shape, the length of one degree of lattitude would
constant everywhere on the Earth's surface. However, because of the slight flattening of
the Earth at the poles, the length of one degree of lattitude varies slightly with distance
from the Equator, but averages approximately 111 km.
At Latitude

Length of 1 Degree of Latitude

0-1

110.567 km

39 - 40

111.023 km

89 - 90

111.699 km

Average

111 km

Length of 1 Degree of Longitude

Since meridians of longitude converge at the poles, the length of one degree of longitude
varies from approximately 111 km at the Equator to 0 km at the poles. At any latitude,
the length of 1 degree of longitude can be calculated by multiplying the length of 1
degree of longitude at the Equator times the cosine of the latitude.
At Latitude

Length of 1 Degree of Longitude

111.321 km

15

107.553 km

30

96.448 km

45

78.849 km

60

55.802 km

75

28.903 km

90

0 km

Great Circles
A great circle is defined by the intersection of a sphere with a plance passing through the
centre of the sphere. Great circles have the following properties:

great circles bisect the sphere, i.e. divide the sphere into two equal hemispheres
intersecting great circles bisect each other
arcs of great circles represent the shorest route between two points on the surface
of the sphere

The Equator is a great circle and all meridians of longitude are arcs of great circles. An
infinite number of great circles are possible since a plane passing through the centre of
the Earth can be placed at any angle relative to the Equator, not just north-south or eastwest.

Great Circle Distances

The great circle distance between two points is often difficult to measure on a globe and,
in general, cannot be measured accurately on a map due to distortion introduced in
representing the approximately spherical geometry of the Earth on a flat map. However,
great circle distances can be calculated easily given the latitudes and longitudes of the
two points, using the following formula from spherical trigonometry:
cos D = ( sin a )(sin b) + (cos a)(cos b)(cos P)
where:
D is the angular distance between points A and B
a is the latitude of point A

b is the latitude of point B

P is the longitudinal difference between points A and B
In applying the above formula, south latitudes and west longitudes are treated as negative
angles. Once cos D has been calculated, the angle D can be determined using the ARCOS
function available on scientific calculators or in spreadsheet software such as Microsoft
Excel. Note that these functions may expect angles measured in radians rather than
degrees. Since radians equals 180 degrees, you can convert degrees to radians by
multiplying by /180 or convert radians to degrees by multiplying by 180/.

An Example
Calculate the great circle distance between Toronto, located at 43o N, 80o W and Tokyo,
located at 35o N, 135o E.
The formula for the distance calculation is
cos D = (sin a)(sin b) + (cos a)(cos b)(cos P)
Let Toronto be point A and Tokyo be point B. Substituting in the equation we have
cos D = (sin 43)(sin 35) + (cos 43)(cos 35)(cos(80+135))
Notice that the difference in longitude, P, is 80 - (-135) = 80 + 135 = 215. Since this is
greater than 180 degrees and we are interested in the shortest route between the two
points, we subtract P from 360, giving P = 360 - 215 = 145..
cos D = (sin 43)(sin 35) + (cos 43)(cos 35)(cos 145)
cos D = (0.682)(0.574) + (0.731)(0.819)(-.819)
cos D = 0.391 - 0.491 = -0.1
D = arcos( -0.1) = 95.7
The distance in km is obtained by multiplying the angle in degrees by 111 km
distance = (95.7)(111) = 10,624 km
Note: All calculations for this example were performed using the calculator available
under the the Accessories menu in Windows95, WindowsNT or Windows98.

Small Circles

A small circle is defined by the intersection of a sphere with a plane that does not pass
through the centre of the sphere. All paralllels of latitude, except the Equator, are small
circles. Again, an infinite number of small circles are possible, depending on the position
and orientation of the plane relative to the sphere

Loxodromes
Loxodromes, also known as rhumb lines, are lines of constant direction. All meridians of
longitude and all parallels of latitude are locodromes. If you travel along any parallel of
latitude, you are travelling either due east or due west. Similarly, travel along any
meridian of longitude is in north or south direction. All other loxodromes, e.g. the
direction NW, trace spiral paths that converge on either the north or south pole.
Loxodrome in Non-cardinal Direction