Skip to content
ENExplore Calculators

Great Circle Distance Calculator

Calculate the shortest distance between two points on the Earth’s surface.

About Great Circle Distance Calculator

The shortest route between two points on a sphere follows a great circle, which is why long-haul flight paths curve towards the poles on a flat map. The central angle between the points multiplied by the radius gives the distance. Flat-map straight lines overstate distance considerably at high latitudes, which is why polar routes between Europe and Asia are shorter than they appear.

Formula

Great Circle Distance

Great-circle distance = Earth radius × central angle between the two points

great circle
The shortest path between two points on a sphere
Earth radius
Taken as 6,371 km, the mean radius

Worked example

With the default values below, Great Circle Distance Calculator returns Distance of 5,570.222. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

First latitudeaccepts -90–90 degrees
51.5074 degrees
First longitudeaccepts -180–180 degrees
-0.1278 degrees
Second latitudeaccepts -90–90 degrees
40.7128 degrees
Second longitudeaccepts -180–180 degrees
-74.006 degrees

Results

Distance
5,570.222 km
Distance
3,461.175 miles
Distance
3,007.681 nmi
Initial Bearing
288.33 degrees
Flight Time at 900 km/h
6.189 h

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Great Circle Distance
  3. 3Distance= 5,570.222 km
  4. 4Distance= 3,461.175 miles
  5. 5Distance= 3,007.681 nmi
  6. 6Initial Bearing= 288.33 degrees
  7. 7Flight Time at 900 km/h= 6.189 h

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Great Circle Distance calculated?

Great-circle distance = Earth radius × central angle between the two points The shortest route between two points on a sphere follows a great circle, which is why long-haul flight paths curve towards the poles on a flat map. The central angle between the points multiplied by the radius gives the distance.

Why does Great Circle Distance matter?

Flat-map straight lines overstate distance considerably at high latitudes, which is why polar routes between Europe and Asia are shorter than they appear.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 4 inputs: First latitude, First longitude, Second latitude, Second longitude. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

Related Calculators

Great Circle Distance Calculator | Calcrivo