Author: Wg Cdr Rajagopal

In this post, we shall understand about the Position Reference System using a combination of Latitude and Longitude. In our previous posts, we had learnt about the Parallels of latitude and the meridians of longitude. CARTESIAN CO-ORDINATE SYSTEM The aim of this lesson is to understand the position reference system used for Air Navigation. Let us draw a parallel between the manner in which a point is uniquely defined on a flat or plane surface. You can draw a line on a flat piece of paper like Graph Sheet. The…

In this post, let us understand about Longitudes or Meridians of Longitudes. A combination of latitudes and Longitude is required to fix a position without ambiguity. In our earlier lesson, we had learnt about Parallels of Latitude and the differences between Geocentric and Geodetic Latitudes. PRIME MERIDIAN In our earlier lessons, we had learnt that lines connecting one pole to another are called Meridians. To be more specific, Meridians are Semi-Great Circles joining the poles. A combination of Meridian and its Anti-Meridian would constitute a Great Circle. The Meridian which…

In this post, we would learn the difference between Geocentric and Geodetic latitudes. In our earlier post, we had broadly seen about the definition and the importance of Parallels of Latitude in defining a position. GEOCENTRIC LATITUDE As we had seen in the case of latitude, when we draw a line from any point on the earth’s surface to the centre of earth and measure the angle this line makes with the plane of the Equator we get the Geocentric Latitude. We are aware that the shape of earth is…