Latitude and Longitude

[Klapaucius]

I feel rather dumb asking this, but I realized I have no idea how to go to a set of coordinates.  If I land somewhere, I can find my coordinates via the tracking station, but I have no idea how to actually find a place if I am given a set of coordinates. I feel dumb because I have actually posted two challenges with specific starting coordinates, and it dawned on me I would have no idea how to get to my own challenges if I did not already know the locations.

So, how do you do this?

[4x4cheesecake]

In stock, you can use KerbNett acess of a probe in orbit. Latitude and longitude are shown in the KerbNet map. Just move the curser around the map until you are close to the coordinates you are looking for. To be 100% accurate, your probe needs to cross the spot you are looking for, or at least need to be close to that spot. As soon you are close, reduce the FOV to be more precise when setting a target marker.

Mods like ScanSat are really helpful if you need to find coordinates, because you can create a zoomable map of a whole planet/moon and you can look around the map for your coordinates, independet of the position of your probe.

[Zhetaan]

@Klapaucius:

Mods are the easy way for most.  SCANSat is very good for that, but I will caution you that you need to have maps and the right tech in order to get precise coordinates.  You also need to find the coordinates; so far as I know, you cannot use coordinates as an input.  MechJeb can do accurate coordinates (and out of the box, too, if you set it that way), but it is a somewhat more difficult task because, if I'm not completely forgetful, its main purpose with coordinates was to take a chosen landing target and find the coordinates for it, not take coordinates and use them to find a target.  Hyperedit will also do the job, but it will take a vessel to the location, not so much set a marker for the location.  Of course, you can use the vessel as the marker or plant a flag once you get there.

I find personally that the best mod to find a place from a set of coordinates is @nightingale's Waypoint Manager, hence the link.

Without mods, you can use Kerbnet as @4x4cheesecake suggested (I don't, but my thought is to question whether it's necessary to have a probe in orbit to find coordinates; can you not install a KerbNet-capable part on a rover or a plane?), or you can go with the age-old method of planting a series of flags.  It won't help you find a location from the coordinates, but it can help you find the coordinates of a location.  Once you set a few flags, you can use those coordinates to interpolate a desired destination.

[4x4cheesecake]

5 minutes ago, Zhetaan said:

can you not install a KerbNet-capable part on a rover or a plane?

You can, but your map will display just a small part of the surface. It is way more comfortable to have a probe in orbit which can display the whole body on the map. Also, you don't have to deal with the controling of your rover/plane while looking at the map.

[bewing]

A Surface Scanner will also display a continuous readout of latitude/longitude.

 

[Superfluous J]

If you install Contract Configurator you can place a waypoint right where your challenge says to go.

If you have Making History you can make your challenge a Mission.

But for the base stock game the best I can think of is to go into Kerbnet, place a waypoint, and then go into the save file to edit the waypoint to be where you want it.