About Great Circle Calculations

A great circle is the largest possible circle that can be drawn on a sphere. The great circle distance is the shortest distance between two points on a sphere's surface.

Formula Used:

The haversine formula is used to calculate the great circle distance between two points on a sphere:

d = 2r × arcsin(√(sin²((φ₂ - φ₁)/2) + cos(φ₁) × cos(φ₂) × sin²((λ₂ - λ₁)/2)))

Where:

• d is the distance between the two points
• r is the radius of the sphere (Earth's radius ≈ 6,371 km)
• φ₁, φ₂ are the latitudes of point 1 and point 2
• λ₁, λ₂ are the longitudes of point 1 and point 2