Sep 10, 2024 · What is the main difference between a great circle and a rhumb line? – The main difference is that a great circle is the shortest path between two points on a sphere, while a rhumb line crosses all meridians at a constant angle and is not the shortest path, except along the Equator and meridians.

If a line on a sphere has constant slope (constant azimuth), then the line follows a rhumb line path. If a line on a sphere represents the shortest path between two points, then the line follows a great circle path.

A rhumb line can be contrasted with a great circle, which is the path of shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere. On a great circle, the bearing to the destination point does not remain constant.

This constant track is called a Rhumb Line. The image below shows how these appear in 3D: Here is how a great circle track and a rhumb line track appear on a Mercator map (in 2D), for a flight from Madrid to New York.

The simplest way for you to understand the concept of a Great Circle route is to take a piec e of string to a globe. If you put one end at the origin and the other at the destination and held it straight, paral lel with the equator, you will get one distance known as the ‘ Rhumb Line ’.

May 6, 2024 · The main difference between rhumb line and great circle navigation lies in efficiency and course. While the great circle route offers the shortest and most direct path between two points, taking advantage of the Earth’s sphericity, the rhumb line adheres to a constant course, simplifying navigation but extending the total distance of the journey.

Single rhumb line and great circle calculations on an ellipsoid.

comparing the Great Circle and the Rhumb Line tracks between place of departure at 6000N 01000E and different destinations, all of which are located on the 6000N parallel. In this case the Rhumb Line track will be 270°, and the Rhumb Line distance is easy to calculate, using the formula for departure. Observing the Great Circle track and

A great circle is the shortest path between two points along the surface of a sphere, a geodesic is the shortest path between two points on a curved surface, and a rhumb line is a curve that crosses each meridian at the same angle.

May 19, 2019 · Instead, we calculate the great-circle distance, which is the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere, as measured along the surface of the sphere. That dotted line that connects the two? That’s our friend the …