Need help reading Coords

[fenderzilla]

I'm trying to fly to the underground caves on tylo, and so I looked up the coordinates online. the map website (http://www.kerbalmaps.com/) said it was at "40.2671 : 174.0467" (carl sagan's face was the one near the equator). I'm lazy, so I wanted to use mechjeb's landing auropilot, but there's one problem: mechjeb's coordinates use a different format. it's like the 40 degrees north, 26', 71". I have no idea ho to read these coordinates. are they the same - for example, does 40.2671 : 174.0467 = 40°, 26', 71"N : 174°, 4', 67"W?

[Sid]

Latitude and longitude coordinates can be expressed as decimals or as degrees, minutes and seconds. They don't interchange without some maths, due to the different number bases. I'll leave you to figure out how

There is probably an online converter if you search for one...

[annallia]

Latitude and longitude coordinates can be expressed as decimals or as degrees, minutes and seconds. They don't interchange without some maths, due to the different number bases. I'll leave you to figure out how

There is probably an online converter if you search for one...

Yep: http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/DDDMMSS-decimal.html

[Tiron]

I'm trying to fly to the underground caves on tylo, and so I looked up the coordinates online. the map website (http://www.kerbalmaps.com/) said it was at "40.2671 : 174.0467" (carl sagan's face was the one near the equator). I'm lazy, so I wanted to use mechjeb's landing auropilot, but there's one problem: mechjeb's coordinates use a different format. it's like the 40 degrees north, 26', 71". I have no idea ho to read these coordinates. are they the same - for example, does 40.2671 : 174.0467 = 40°, 26', 71"N : 174°, 4', 67"W?

They're equivilent but not the same. The coords you found are in Decimal format, the ones Mechjeb wants are in Degrees, Minutes, Seconds format. The Minutes and Seconds are out of 60. The N/S or E/W part is indicated in decimal notation(if it's not explicitly listed) by if the numbers are negative or positive: North and East are Positive, South and West are Negative.

To Manually convert from one to the other is really not too difficult: The part above the decimal point is the Degrees. Multiply the part below the Decimal by 60, the part above the decimal point in the result is the Minutes. Multiply the part below the decimal in that result by 60 again. That gives the Seconds.

In the Case of your Example, 40 Degrees, 0.2671*60 = 16.026 = 16 Minutes, 0.026*60=1.56 seconds, North, because it's positive. Then 174 Degrees, 0.0467*60=2.802=2 minutes, 0.802*60=48.12 Seconds, East because it's positive.

So 40°, 16', 1.56"N, 174°, 2', 48.12"E

The FCC Converter spits out 40° 16' 1.5594" 174° 2' 48.1194"

Edited August 13, 2013 by Tiron

[lammatt]

in junior high school

we teach student about map bearing by telling them

Eating before Nothing;

Eastings before Northings