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Day Skipper - Part 5 - Lat
and long
There are many ways of determining a position. Latitude and longitude
are what mariners use to specify a point on the globe without reference
to a well-known feature.
Latitude is the angle subtended between a point on the earth's surface
and the centre of a plane through the equator. It is expressed in degrees
and minutes north or south of the equator in this form: 50°36'N.
Longitude is the angle subtended horizontally between any point on the
earth's surface east or west of the Greenwich meridian and is also expressed
in degrees and minutes in this form: 002°46'E.
Note that as longitude can be expressed up to 180° east or west
it should always be shown in three figures, even if the first two figures
are zeros, to avoid confusion with latitude, which can only ever be up
to 90°.
In giving a position using lat and long, it is customary to give lat
first: i.e. "My position is 60°00'N 060°00'E". This indicates
only one place on the surface of the earth.
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