Calc new latitude/longitude from polar offset of known point

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating a new latitude and longitude based on a known point's coordinates and a polar offset defined by a bearing and distance. The context includes practical applications for property boundary identification using GPS technology.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant outlines the problem of finding a new point's latitude/longitude given a starting point and a polar offset defined by bearing and distance.
  • Another participant suggests resolving the polar bearing into latitude and longitude components and adding these to the starting coordinates, noting that spherical trigonometry may not be necessary for small distances.
  • A follow-up post seeks specific formulas for resolving the polar bearing into latitude and longitude components, emphasizing the small size of the land parcel involved.
  • A participant provides a link to an online calculator that can compute latitude and longitude based on radial distance and bearing from a known point, mentioning the need for conversion of bearing and coordinates into decimal format.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the method of resolving the polar bearing into latitude and longitude components, but there is no consensus on the specific formulas or the necessity of spherical trigonometry for small distances.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include potential assumptions about the size of the area being measured and the accuracy of the calculations based on the Earth's curvature, which may not be fully addressed in the discussion.

BeMildred
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PROBLEM: Find a new point's latitude/longitude given the starting point's latitude/longitude and the polar offset (bearing:degrees-minutes-seconds and distance: xx.xx feet) from that known point.

My property description is given in bearing/distance from a known point. I can find the known point's latitude/longitude.

I need to calculate a new point's latitude/longitude given the distance (xx.xx ft) and bearing (degrees-minutes-seconds) from the known point.

This will enable me to find/approximate my property's borders using my portable gps unit.

A formula will do. An online calculator would be great.
 
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Resolve the polar bearing into lat and long components, then add these to the starting lat/long.
If the bearing length is small compared to the earth, you might not need to take spherical triginto account.
 
mgb_phys said:
Resolve the polar bearing into lat and long components, then add these to the starting lat/long.
If the bearing length is small compared to the earth, you might not need to take spherical triginto account.

Would you know the formulas for resolving the polar bearing into lat and long components? We're talking about a small 4 acre parcel of land.
 
I found an online calculator here http://williams.best.vwh.net/gccalc.htm
scroll down to Compute lat/lon given radial and distance from a known point, you might have to convert the bearing and lat long into decimals.
 
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