Calculating the Equitorial Distance
(from your site)

To complete the Noon Shadow Observation Project we need to know the distance from our home site to another site on our same longitudinal line. Since the Noon Shadow Observation Project is done at the time of the Vernal Equinox, we choose to use the distance the Equator, where there is no shadow at the Equinox.

What We Know

At Faubion Middle School in McKinney, Texas, we know that our latitude is 33° 11' 51" North of the Equator. We also know that our longitude is 96° 36' 54" West of the Prime Meridan. We also know that the perpindicular distance from Faubion MS to the Equator can be calculated from our location to the point with the same longitude and a latitude of zero degrees.

Therefore, we need to know the distance from:
Faubion MS: 33° 11' 51"N ; 96° 36' 54" W
to location shortest distance to Faubion MS on the Equator: 0° N ; 96° 36' 54" W

To find this we went to "How Far Is It?" and entered the above information. We found the answer to be:

Distance result

Distance between 33:11:51N 96:36:54W and 0:00:01N 96:36:54W, as the crow flies:

2283 miles (3674 km) (1984 nautical miles)

Initial heading from 33:11:51N 96:36:54W to 0:00:01N 96:36:54W:
south (180.0 degrees)
Initial heading from 0:00:01N 96:36:54W to 33:11:51N 96:36:54W:
north (0.0 degrees)

Note: The form wouldn't read 0° (the actual latitude of the Equator), so we entered the closest place which was 00:00:01N.

You can view these two places on the following map page.  If this site is off-line you can view the map here.Can you tell that the direct line from Faubion Middle School to the second location is the point on the Equator perpendicular to the Equator.

Back to What Eratosthenes Knew

Noon Shadow Project Faubion Middle School email: kcole@waymark.net Last revised: May 29, 1998

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