Abstract
This paper presents contact formulae for the computation of the position, the distance, and the azimuth along a great ellipse. The proposed alternative formulae are to be primarily used for accurate sailing calculations on the ellipsoid in a GIS environment as in ECDIS and other ECS. Among the ECDIS Requirements is the need for a continuous system with a degree of accuracy consistent with the requirements of safe navigation. At present, this requirement is best fulfilled by the Global Positioning System (GPS). The GPS system is referenced to World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) Datum. Using the ellipsoid model for the spherical model attains more accurate calculation of sailing on the Earth. Therefore, we construct a computational procedure for solving the length of the arc of a great ellipse, the waypoints and azimuths along a great ellipse. In this paper, we provide the straightforward formulae involving the great elliptic sailing based on two scenarios. The first scenario is that the departure point and the destination point are known. The second scenario is that the departure point and the initial azimuth are given.
Recommended Citation
Wei-Kuo, Tseng and Hsuan-Shih, Lee
(2010)
"NAVIGATION ON A GREAT ELLIPSE,"
Journal of Marine Science and Technology: Vol. 18:
Iss.
3, Article 6.
DOI: 10.51400/2709-6998.1882
Available at:
https://jmstt.ntou.edu.tw/journal/vol18/iss3/6