Question

Differences Between Great Circles And Small Circles?

Answer 1

if you draw a circle around a sphere, like a tennis ball, you can draw circles of all different sizes. The biggest circles you can draw around the sphere is called a Great Circle. All of the other circles are called Small Circles.On the Earth, all lines ofLongitudeare Great Circles. The Equator is also a Great Circle. All lines ofLatitude, except for the equator and the two poles, are Small Circles. There are many other Great Circles and Small Circles that can be drawn on the Earth.The center of a Great Circle is the same as the center of the sphere. Theapplet below demonstrates this idea.As these Great Circles share the same center asthe Earth itself, we can use the radius of the Earth, the angular distance between the twopoints, and theArc Length of a Circle formula, to calculate distances along the Earth's Surface.

Answer 2

The Equator is also a Great Circle. All lines of Latitude, except for the equator and the two poles, are Small Circles. There are many other Great Circles and Small Circles that can be drawn on the Earth. The center of a Great Circle is the same as the center of the sphere.