Earth Radius | Rotational Circumference | Distance to Equator and Pole | Earth's Curvature
Calculator for the Rotational Circumference of a Point on Earth
Calculates the distance covered by the Earth's rotation in one day. A point on Earth rotates perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation. Only if this point lies on the equator does the distance covered by one complete rotation correspond to the Earth's circumference of 40075 kilometers. Otherwise, the distance is shorter, and the further the point is from the equator, the shorter the distance. Finally, at the poles, the distance is zero. The Earth is not a sphere, but a spheroid. Therefore, the Earth's radius at the corresponding point must first be determined. From this, the rotational radius can then be calculated by multiplying the Earth's radius by the cosine of the angle of the latitude. The rotational circumference is, of course, the radius of rotation multiplied by twice the number π. The speed of rotation, in turn, is the circumference of rotation divided by 24 hours.
Please enter the latitude of the point on Earth for which you want to know the circumference of rotation and, if you like, also its altitude above sea level. The Example button calculates with a random latitude.
Height above sea level can be negative, then you are below sea level.
Example: Berlin is located at approximately 52.5 degrees north latitude and 35 meters above sea level. Therefore, the rotational radius at this point is 3874.6 kilometers and the rotational circumference is 24345 kilometers. Thus, in one hour, the city covers one twenty-fourth of its circumference, taking only the Earth's rotation into account, which is 1014.4 kilometers. The Earth's speed of rotation in Berlin is therefore 1014.4 km/h.
Another example: the famous White Cliffs of Dover are located at a latitude of approximately 51.13 and are 106 meters above sea level at their highest point. This point rotates at 1045.782 km/h, whereas the sea below rotates at 1045.765 km/h. The difference in the rotational circumference is 418 meters.
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