How does one calculate Earth's circumference based on latitude?
by 
Glenn Blaylock
ANSWERS: 4
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latitude = horizontal therefore equator = circumference
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i dont think you can just crunch numbers with latitudes and longitudes. you're missing a variable somewhere i guess. The equator is a good start, you just need units.
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Are you asking how to calculate the length of a latitude circle, i.e., the circumference of a slice of earth parallel to the equator at a given latitude? If R is the earth's radius and L is the latitude, then the formula is 2(pi)R*cosine(L). At the equator (L=0) this gives the circumference of the earth. At the poles (L=90 degrees) the formula yields zero.
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You can also use the Great Circle - versine Distance Formula The haversine formula is an equation important in navigation, giving great-circle distances between two points on a sphere from their longitudes and latitudes. Presuming a spherical Earth with radius R (see below), and that the locations of the two points in spherical coordinates (longitude and latitude) are lon1, lat1 and lon2, lat2, then the Haversine Formula: dlon = lon2 - lon1 dlat = lat2 - lat1 a = (sin(dlat/2))^2 + cos(lat1) * cos(lat2) * (sin(dlon/2))^2 c = 2 * atan2(sqrt(a), sqrt(1-a)) d = R * c will give mathematically and computationally exact results. The intermediate result c is the great circle distance in radians. The great circle distance d will be in the same units as R. The Haversine Calculator as linked, will give you the latitude circumference. http://www.autocalculator.org/Calculators/Driving-Distance-Calculator.aspx
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