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http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapter2.htm
Positional Astronomy:
Spherical trigonometry
A great-circle arc, on the sphere, is the analogue of a straight line, on the plane.
Where two such arcs intersect, we can define the spherical angle
either as angle between the tangents to the two arcs, at the point of intersection,
or as the angle between the planes of the two great circles where they intersect at the centre of the sphere.
(Spherical angle is only defined where arcs of great circles meet.)
A spherical triangle is made up of three arcs of great circles, all less than 180.
The sum of the angles is not fixed, but will always be greater than 180.
If any side of the triangle is exactly 90, the triangle is called quadrantal.
There are many formulae relating the sides and angles of a spherical triangle.
In this course we use only two: the sine rule and the cosine rule.
Consider a triangle ABC on the surface of a sphere with radius = 1.
(See note)
We use the capital letters A, B, C to denote the angles at these corners;
we use the lower-case letters a, b, c to denote the opposite sides.
(Remember that, in spherical geometry, the side of a triangle is the arc of a great circle,
so it is also an angle.)
Turn the sphere so that A is at the "north pole",
and let arc AB define the "prime meridian".
3.12.2016 16:48
2 of 4
http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapter2.htm
3.12.2016 16:48
3 of 4
http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapter2.htm
Exercise:
Alderney, in the Channel Islands, has longitude 2W, latitude 50N.
Winnipeg, in Canada, has longitude 97W, latitude 50N.
How far apart are they, in nautical miles, along a great-circle arc?
If you set off from Alderney on a great-circle route to Winnipeg,
3.12.2016 16:48
4 of 4
http://star-www.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/webnotes/chapter2.htm
3.12.2016 16:48