- #1
makc
- 65
- 0
wonder if anyone have stumbled across ready code for http://mathworld.wolfram.com/GreatCircle.html" - i.e., the code to get from phi1 theta1 to phi2 theta2 on sphere.
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The purpose of this code is to calculate the shortest distance between two points on a sphere, which can be useful in a variety of applications such as navigation, astronomy, and geodesy.
The code uses the Haversine formula, which takes into account the curvature of the Earth's surface, to calculate the great circle distance between two points on a sphere.
The inputs of the code are the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the starting point and the destination point. The outputs are the great circle distance between the two points and the initial and final bearings (directions) from the starting point to the destination point.
Yes, the code can be used for any two points on Earth, as long as the coordinates are entered in decimal degrees format.
The calculated great circle distance is accurate to within 0.5% of the actual distance, which is a reasonable level of accuracy for most applications. However, it should be noted that the Earth is not a perfect sphere, so the calculated distance may differ slightly from the actual distance in certain cases.