Co-ordinates FAQ
This short FAQ provides some basic info about different co-ordinate systems used for mapping etc.• (OS) grid reference - Ordnance Survey's widely used grid referencing system for locating points on maps etc.
• longitude - is the east / west geographic co-ordinate measurement system that is most commonly used in global navigation.
• latitude - gives a place's location north or south of the equator; lines of latitude run east to west.
• (X and Y) co-ordinates - Cartesian coordinate system used to map out the various locations. Knowing the co-ordinates of two places (in the UK) you can calculate the distance between them using Pythagoras' Theorem. (note that for larger distances i.e. distance between UK and USA you would need to take the curvature of the earth's surface into account).
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• longitude - is the east / west geographic co-ordinate measurement system that is most commonly used in global navigation.
• latitude - gives a place's location north or south of the equator; lines of latitude run east to west.
• (X and Y) co-ordinates - Cartesian coordinate system used to map out the various locations. Knowing the co-ordinates of two places (in the UK) you can calculate the distance between them using Pythagoras' Theorem. (note that for larger distances i.e. distance between UK and USA you would need to take the curvature of the earth's surface into account).