great circles
Maximum circumference paths
Great circles are the largest circles that can be drawn on a sphere's surface, formed when a plane passes through the sphere's center.
The equator is a great circle; lines of longitude are great circles; lines of latitude other than the equator are not.
Great circles mark the shortest distance between two points on a sphere, which is why airplane flight paths often appear curved on flat maps—they're following great circle routes.
- spherePerfectly round solid
- meridianPole-to-pole great circle
- arcCurved line segment
- latitudeGeographic or personal freedom
- equatorMidpoint circle of rotation
longitude · navigation · geodesy · flight paths · air travel · horizon · cartography · pole · celestial sphere · globe · trajectories · Mercator projection · curve · circumference · Mercator · route · nautical mile · airplane
great circlessmall circles
Compact curved enclosures
latitude lines · tropics · Arctic Circle · Antarctic Circle · Tropic of Cancer
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