[Asterisk-Users] Re: Nauti miles

[John Baker]

Actually, a nautical mile is equal to one degree of longitude - at the
equator.  The earth's circumference at the equator is 24,901 statute miles
(these are the miles we all know and love equal to 5,280 feet)

Ok, so far so good.  Degrees are divided up into minutes and seconds, just
like hours are on the clock.  The circumference of the earth is,
as we know, 360 degrees.  360 degrees times 60 minutes per degree equals
21,600 total minutes.

And 24,901 statute miles divided by 21,600 minutes equals 1.1528.24 statute
miles per minute - That's a nautical mile.  And that's the way it was
supposed to work at one time.  More or less.  Let me explain:

That's the way it was supposed to work back when map making wasn't an exact
science.  At one point, the circumference was thought to be much less than
its current measure.  The nautical mile was less than it is now.  As map
making got better, the length of the nautical mile increased until finally,
somebody got smart and standardized the nautical mile at 1.1508 plus a bunch
more decimals statute miles.

Just figure a nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles and you'll be alright.

John Baker


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Bill Michaelson
To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2004 6:16 PM
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Re: Nauti miles



I might as well add to the offtopic thread...  why are natuical miles longer
than "regular" miles?

Andrew



A nautical mile is 1 minute of latitude.