latitude

latitude

1. 

a. an angular distance in degrees north or south of the equator (latitude 0?), equal to the angle subtended at the centre of the globe by the meridian between the equator and the point in question

b. a region considered with regard to its distance from the equator

2. Photog the range of exposure over which a photographic emulsion gives an acceptable negative

3. Astronomy See celestial latitude

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

latitude

1. Short for celestial latitude. See ecliptic coordinate system.

2. Short for galactic latitude.

See galactic coordinate system.

Collins Dictionary of Astronomy © Market House Books Ltd, 2006

Latitude

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

Latitude (properly called terrestrial latitude) refers to a location’s distance from the equator. Celestial latitude refers to the angular distance (distance measured in degrees and minutes of an arc) that a planet or other celestial body is located above or below the ecliptic. One can also talk about galactic latitude, which is the distance above or below a plane drawn through the center of the Milky Way, as well as heliographic latitude, which is the distance north or south of the Sun’s equator. Clearly, the notion of latitude can be extended to any celestial body.

Sources:

DeVore, Nicholas. Encyclopedia of Astrology. New York: Philosophical Library, 1947.

Filbey, John, and Peter Filbey. The Astrologer’s Companion. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, UK: Aquarian Press, 1986.

The Astrology Book, Second Edition © 2003 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.

latitude

[′lad·ə‚tüd]

(geodesy)

Angular distance from a primary great circle or plane, as on the celestial sphere or the earth.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

latitude

1. The perpendicular distance in a horizontal plane of a point from an east-west axis of reference.

2. In surveying, the north-south component of a traverse course.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

latitude

i. The angular distance from the equator to a point, measured northward or southward along a meridian through that point. It is measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds and is annotated N or S, according to whether the point lies north or south of the equator. Parallels of latitude are parallel to the equator and “cut” the earth into imaginary parallel slices. The equator is 0° latitude, the North Pole is 90° N, and the South Pole is 90° S latitude. See also parallels of latitude.
ii. That property of a film that enables it to accommodate varying conditions of light without adversely affecting the resultant photograph.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

latitude

The location north or south of the equator, measured in degrees from the equator, which is 0. The North Pole is plus 90 degrees, and the South Pole is minus 90 degrees. Degrees are further divided into minutes and seconds.

East/West Longitude
Longitude is the location east and west of the Greenwich prime meridian in London, measured in degrees from this reference point, which is 0. Europe is plus degrees to the east, and the Americas are minus degrees to the west.

To pinpoint a location on earth, the north/south latitude (y-axis) is combined with the east/west longitude (x-axis). For example, the Empire State Building in New York is expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds as follows. See geocoding and what3words.

Copyright © 1981-2025 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Latitude

 

one of the coordinates in numerous systems of spherical coordinates that determine the position of points on the earth’s surface (seeGEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES and COORDINATES [in geodesy]), on the celestial sphere (seeCELESTIAL COORDINATES), or on the surface of the sun, moon, and planets (see HELIOCENTRIC COORDINATES; SELENOGRAPHIC COORDINATES;and PLANETOGRAPHIC COORDINATES).

For the earth, a distinction is made between astronomical latitude and geodetic latitude (or geographical latitude), depending on the method of determination. The astronomical latitude ϕ of a point on the surface of the earth is equal to the angle between a plumb line (normal to the geoid) to the point and the plane of the earth’s equator. It is also equal to the height of the pole of the earth above the horizon and is considered to be positive in the northern hemisphere and negative in the southern hemisphere. The latitude of points on the equator is 0°; the latitude of the north pole is + 90°, and that of the south pole, –90°. Lines with the same values of ϕ are parallels.

Unlike astronomical latitude, which is determined from astronomical observations, geodetic latitude is computed on the basis of measurements on the earth’s surface, for example, by the triangulation method, taken between the point being measured and a certain starting point. Geodetic latitude is equal to the angle formed by the normal to the reference ellipsoid passing through the given point and the plane of its equator.

The geocentric latitude ϕ′ is equal to the angle between the radius drawn from the center of the earth’s ellipsoid to the given point and the plane of the equator. There is a relationship between astronomical latitude and geocentric latitude: tan ϕ′ = (bla)² tan ϕ, where a is the semimajor axis of the earth’s ellipsoid and b is the semiminor axis. The largest difference between ϕ and ϕ’ occurs when ϕ = 45° (Δϕ ≃ 11′5); at the equator and the poles, Δϕ = 0.

In geodesy, the reduced latitude u is also used, whose values lie between ϕ and ϕ’ and are determined by the formula tan u = (bla)tan ϕ.

A. A. MIKHAILOV

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.