great circle

Also known as orthodrome

intersection of the sphere and a plane which passes through the center point of the sphere

AI overview

A great circle is the largest circle you can draw on a sphere's surface—it's created when a flat plane cuts through the very center of the sphere. Great circles matter because they represent the shortest distance between any two points on a sphere, which is why airlines and ships use great circle routes for navigation.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Great circle hemispheres.png

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Article

The great circle g (green) lies in a plane through the sphere's center O (black). The perpendicular line a (purple) through the center is called the axis of g, and its two intersections with the sphere, P and P' (red), are the poles of g. Any great circle s (blue) through the poles is secondary to g. A great circle divides the sphere in two equal hemispheres.

In mathematics, a great circle or orthodrome is the circular intersection of a sphere and a plane passing through the sphere's center point.