great circle distance

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "great circle distance" is correct and usable in written English.
It is typically used in the context of geography or navigation to refer to the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere. Example: "To calculate the great circle distance between New York and London, we can use the haversine formula."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

17 human-written examples

A buffer was then constructed for each point using a sliding variable size based on the great circle distance to neighbouring points in the grid pattern.

The Guardian

The two systems constantly monitored the carrier amplitude and phase of the MSK (Minimum Shift Keying) modulated navy transmitter located in Australia (Callsign: NWC, 19.8 kHz, geographical latitude 21.88°S, longitude 114.13°E), around 5.6 Mm great circle distance from the two receivers.

Advances in Space Research

As users may not place the marker on exactly the same location coordinates estimated/identified by the location extraction component, there is an error tolerance (e.g., 100 meters great circle distance) in our system, which is calculated based on the Haversine distance between the selected coordinates and the estimated location.

Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences

Across-track vector and scalar differences are next computed by selecting Swarm A and C data measured at the same universal time (UT) with the additional condition that the distance between the measurements does not exceed 1.4° in great circle distance (this corresponds to the angular distance between Swarm A and C at the equator crossings).

Earth, Planets and Space

We selected station pairs whose azimuthal differences from the source were less than 5°, and this met the condition that the difference between the great circle distance from the event to the far station and the distance to the far station via the near station was less than 25 km.

Earth, Planets and Space

The spherical distance (also called great circle distance or geodesic shortest distance) between two projection points and on the sphere, denoted by, is the shortest distance between any two points on the surface of a sphere measured along a path on the surface of the sphere.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

42 human-written examples

They are based on spherical geometry and make use of great circle distances.

Earth, Planets and Space

Great circle distances from the epicenter to Wakkanai, Moshiri and Rikubetsu are 762, 672 and 588 km, respectively.

Earth, Planets and Space

Geographical distances between localities were estimated using the rdist.earth function in the fields package [59], which returns Great circle distances from longitude/latitude data.

Plosone

In order to preserve the highest spatiotemporal resolution of the data, consecutive ARGOS hits were linearly interpolated to 3 positions per day based on great circle distances, based on the observed mean of 2.7±2.9 hits/day.

Plosone

A Mantel test for matrix correlation between genetic similarity (M) and geographic distance using great circle distances showed no significant negative correlation for the full dataset (Z = 28*1011, r = 0.127, one-sided p = 0.958) or the stripped dataset (Z = 16*1011, r = 0.131, one-sided p = 0.948).

Plosone

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When writing about distances on the Earth, especially for long distances, use "great circle distance" to emphasize that you're accounting for the Earth's curvature, ensuring accuracy.

Common error

Avoid using straight-line (Euclidean) distance for geographical calculations over long distances. "Great circle distance" provides a more accurate representation due to the Earth's curvature.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "great circle distance" functions primarily as a noun phrase, often serving as the subject or object of a sentence. It identifies a specific type of distance measurement on a sphere, crucial in fields like geography and navigation. Ludwig examples showcase its use in defining parameters and calculations.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

60%

Wiki

20%

News & Media

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "great circle distance" is a technical term used to describe the shortest distance between two points on a sphere, taking its curvature into account. Ludwig AI confirms it's grammatically sound. It's most commonly found in scientific contexts, and while not exceedingly frequent, it’s important for accuracy in calculations related to geography, navigation, and aviation. When writing, remember to use this phrase when precision is required and straight-line distances would be inaccurate. Consider "spherical distance" as a potential alternative, depending on the context.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

spherical distance

This term is more general and can apply to distances on any sphere, not just the Earth.

shortest distance on a sphere

Emphasizes the minimization of distance along the curved surface.

geodesic distance on a sphere

More technical and emphasizes the shortest path along a curved surface.

orthodromic distance

This term is often used in navigation and aviation.

surface distance on a sphere

Explicitly refers to distance measured on the sphere's surface.

as the crow flies

An informal way of indicating the shortest distance between two points, disregarding obstacles.

haversine distance

Refers specifically to the distance calculated using the Haversine formula.

round-earth distance

Emphasizes that the calculation takes the Earth's curvature into account.

arc length distance

Highlights the measurement along an arc of a circle.

spherical geodesic

Focuses on the path itself, rather than just the distance.

FAQs

How is "great circle distance" calculated?

The "great circle distance" is typically calculated using the Haversine formula, which takes into account the latitude and longitude of two points on a sphere to determine the shortest distance between them along the sphere's surface.

What is the difference between "great circle distance" and Euclidean distance?

Euclidean distance is a straight-line distance calculated in a flat plane. "Great circle distance" is the shortest distance between two points on a sphere's surface, accounting for its curvature. For long distances on Earth, "great circle distance" is more accurate.

When should I use "great circle distance" in geographical calculations?

Use "great circle distance" when calculating distances over long distances where the Earth's curvature significantly affects the result. This is especially important in navigation, aviation, and mapping.

Are there alternatives to using the phrase "great circle distance"?

Yes, you can use alternatives like "spherical distance" or "geodesic distance on a sphere" depending on the level of technicality required. In more informal contexts, you might say "as the crow flies".