Basic Concepts:

Coordinate Systems

Mohd. Farooq Azam

farooqazam@iiti.ac.in
Coordinate System
To navigate and describe satellite motion, it is necessary to have a
well-defined coordinate system.
It is the central - mathematical - element of more complex issue –
reference system.

A reference system consists of the adopted

coordinate system and, in addition, of a
set of constants, models and parameters.
This additional set could define the
constants of a reference ellipsoid or the
parameters of a reference gravity field.
Coordinate System
• A coordinate system is a system designed to establish positions with respect to
given reference points.
• The coordinate system consists of:
-one or more reference points,
-the styles of measurement (linear or angular) from those reference points, and
-the directions (or axes) in which those measurements will be taken.
• A coordinate system is a grid used to identify locations on a page or screen that
are equivalent to grid locations on the globe.
• The coordinates are (x, y) pairs that are based on some universal origin point of
reference.

In satellite navigation, various coordinate

(reference) systems are used to precisely
define the satellite and user locations.
Coordinate System
Classification
According with body of reference and location
of origin
a coordinate system may be:
Topocentric (use observer’s location as the center)
Geocentric (origin – Earth’s mass center)

Heliocentric (origin – the Sun)

Selenocentric (origin – the Moon)
……

Geocentric and topocentric are most common

coordinate systems used for purposes of
satellite navigation.
Types of Coordinate System

Depending on the coordinate system set it may be:

(1) Geographic coordinate System (Latitude & Longitude)

(2) Projected coordinate System (meter and km).

Note : The z-coordinate in (1) is defined gravitationally and in

(2) the z-coordinate is defined geometrically.
Geographic Coordinate System (f, l, z)
(Latitude & Longitude)

• A geographic coordinate system enables every location on

Earth to be specified in three coordinates (latitude, longitude,
elevation).
• It is based on spherical coordinate system (coordinates are
angular values).
• Any location on earth can be referenced by a point with
latitude and longitude.
Geographic Coordinate System (f, l, z)
Latitude and Longitude on a Sphere
Geographical Latitude (abbreviation: Lat., f, or phi) is the angle between equatorial
plane and normal that passes through user location point.
Geographical Longitude (abbreviation: Long., λ, or lambda) is the angle between
reference meridian (Greenwich) and another meridian that passes through user location
point.

Latitude and Longitude Measurements

Geographic Coordinate System (f, l, z)
Latitude and Longitude on a Sphere

Greenwich Z Meridian of longitude

N
meridian Parallel of latitude
=0°

=9
 - Geographic longitude

0° N
 - Geographic latitude
W O E
• Y
=1 • R - Mean earth radius
80°
W  =0°
• Equator
=180°E O - Geocenter
X
S
9 0°
=
Geographic Coordinate System (f, l, z)
Latitude and Longitude on a Sphere

Greenwich Z Meridian of longitude

N
meridian Parallel of latitude
=0°
P
•

=9
 - Geographic longitude

0° N
 - Geographic latitude
W O  E
R
• Y
=1 • R - Mean earth radius
80°
W  =0°
• Equator
=180°E O - Geocenter
X
S
9 0°
=
Geographic Coordinate System (f, l, z)
Latitude and Longitude on a Sphere

Greenwich Z Meridian of longitude

N
meridian Parallel of latitude
=0°
P
•

=9
 - Geographic longitude

0° N
 - Geographic latitude
W O  E
R
• Y
 R - Mean earth radius
=1
80°
•
W  =0°
• Equator
=180°E O - Geocenter
X
S
9 0°
=
Geographic Coordinate System (f, l, z)
Length on Meridians and Parallels

Lines of latitude are called “parallels”.

Lines of longitude are called “meridians”.
(Lat, Long) = (f, l)

Length on a Meridian:
R
AB = Re Df 30 N R Dl D
(same for all latitudes) B
Re Df
0N Re
Length on a Parallel: A
BD = R Dl = Re Cos f Dl
(varies with latitude)
Geographic Coordinate System (f, l, z)
Pm
Example: What is the length of a 1º increment along
on a meridian and on a parallel at 30N, 90W?
Radius of the earth = 6370 km.
E

Solution:
• A 1º angle has first to be converted to radians
p radians = 180 º, so 1º = p/180 = 3.1416/180 = 0.0175 radians

• For the meridian, DL = Re Df = 6370 * 0.0175 = 111 km

• For the parallel, DL = Re Cos f Dl

= 6370 * Cos 30 * 0.0175
= 96.5 km
• Parallels converge as poles are approached
Projected Coordinate System
• A projected coordinate system is defined as two
dimensional representation of the Earth.
• It is based on a spheroid geographic coordinate
system, but it uses linear units of measure for
coordinates.
• It is also known as Cartesian coordinate system.
Projected Coordinate System
• In such a coordinate system the location of a point on the grid
is identified by (x, y) coordinate pair and the origin lies at the
centre of grid. The x coordinate determines the horizontal
position and y coordinate determines the vertical position of
the point.
Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)

• Global system
• Mostly used between 80 degrees south to 84
degrees north latitude
• Divided into UTM zones, which are 6 degrees
wide (longitudinal strips)
• Units are meters.