Defining Latitude and Longitude

[PoAT.PaN]

Why don't we go 0 to 360 and 0 to 180? It seems like it would make more sense. That way N0,W0 would be at one of the poles instead of some random spot off the coast of Africa. It would also simplify the the N vs S and E vs W thing in coordinates. You could even normalize so it would be between 0 and 1 for simplicity. That way you could say I'm at (0.74562, 0.42345), instead of N 52 24.45634 W44 36.43234. Align it with Greenwich, UK for consistency. Thoughts?

 

[CycloWizard]

Because it's trivial to do all of the things you mentioned using the traditional coordinate system. The traditional system arose when people were still doing all of the calculations for navigation by hand, so normalizing was just a headache.

 

[SP33Demon]

Because the equator should always be zero due to the two hemispheres and seasons. Also, degrees/minutes/seconds is easier to remember than your decimal system since they are static terrestrial values depending on the datum/projection.

 

[dkozloski]

Degrees, minutes, seconds, and nautical miles all fit together in an integrated system that has served navigators well for many years.

 

[Throckmorton]

0 latitude at the equator makes sense, because conditions vary about equally in both directions north and south from the equator.

But for longitude, I think 0-360 would make more sense. The earth rotating through 360 degrees over the course of a day- it just makes sense.

 

[mammador]

It works, so why change it?

 

[stevech]

teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, inches, feet, yards, blah blah.
Before changing to metric, my wife says: Show me a metric egg.