Updated: 19 April 2007

Calculating Distances Between Two Points

There are many ways to calculate the distance between two points on the earth's surface, defined by their latitude and longitude. The methods vary in complexity and accuracy.

Generally the simpler the method, the less accurate it is.

Great Circle Distance (Based on Spherical trigonometry)
Spheroidal model for the earth
Comparison of methods

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Explanation of terms

L1	=	latitude at the first point (degrees)
L2	=	latitude at the second point (degrees)
G1	=	longitude at the first point (degrees)
G2	=	longitude at the second point (degrees)
DG	=	longitude of the second point minus longitude of the first point (degrees)
DL	=	latitude of the second point minus latitude of the first point (degrees)
D	=	computed distance (km)

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Definitions

South latitudes are negative.
East longitudes are positive.
Great circle distance is the shortest distance between two points on a sphere. This coincides with the circumference of a circle which passes through both points and the centre of the sphere.
Geodesic distance is the shortest distance between two points on a spheroid.
Normal section distance is formed by a plane on a spheroid containing a point at one end of the line and the normal of the point at the other end. For all practical purposes, the difference between a normal section and a geodesic distance is insignificant.

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Great Circle Distance (Based on Spherical trigonometry)

This method calculates the great circle distance, and is based on spherical trigonometry, and assumes that:

1 minute of arc is 1 nautical mile
1 nautical mile is 1.852 km

D = 1.852 * 60 * ARCOS ( SIN(L1) * SIN(L2) + COS(L1) * COS(L2) * COS(DG))

Note: If your calculator returns the ARCOS result as radians you will have to convert the radians to degrees before multiplying by 60 and 1.852 degrees = (radians/PI)*180, where PI=3.141592654...

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Spheroidal model for the earth

This method assumes a spheroidal model for the earth with an average radius of 6364.963 km. It has been derived for use within Australia.

The formula is estimated to have an accuracy of about 200 metres over 50 km, but may deteriorate with longer distances.

TERM1	=	111.08956 * (DL + 0.000001)
TERM2	=	COS(L1 + (DL/2)
TERM3	=	(DG + 0.000001) / (DL + 0.000001)
D	=	TERM1 / COS(ARCTAN(TERM2 * TERM3))

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Comparison of methods

The table below shows distances calculated by each of the methods above. Vincenty's formulae (method 3), is the "best" answer and can be used for comparison with the others.

However, remember that the different methods compute different types of distance (great circle, geodesic etc), and you must decide which type of system (distance) you wish to use.

The test lines shown are neither exhaustive nor complete, but are indicative of the accuracies which may be obtained. Method 4 uses the GRS80 ellipsoid that is used with Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA) coordinate system. This ellipsoid is effectively the same as the WGS84 ellipsoid used with GPS. All distances are in kilometres.

From	Method 1	Method 2	Method 3
To	Great Circle	Approx. ellip.	Vincenty's
A A	0.000	0.000	0.000
A B	111.120	111.089	110.861
A C	146.677	146.645	146.647
A D	241.787	241.728	241.428
A E	346.556	346.469	345.929
A F	454.351	454.237	453.493
A G	563.438	563.294	562.376
A H	1114.899	1114.616	1113.142
A I	2223.978	2223.420	2222.323
A J	3334.440	3333.612	3334.804
A K	4445.247	4444.156	4449.317
A L	5556.190	5554.843	5565.218

Point	Latitude	Longitude
A	-30	150
B	-31	150
C	-31	151
D	-32	151
E	-33	151
F	-34	151
G	-35	151
H	-40	151
I	-50	151
J	-60	151
K	-70	151
L	-80	151

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For more information contact: geodesy@ga.gov.au