Definition of great circle Great circle
great cir•cle
We found 5 definitions of great circle from 4 different sources.
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What does great circle mean?
WordNet
Noun |
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| great circle - a circular line on the surface of a sphere formed by intersecting it with a plane passing through the center | ||
| line acting in conformity; "in line with"; "he got out of line"; "toe the line" | ||
| celestial equator, equinoctial, equinoctial circle, equinoctial line the great circle on the celestial sphere midway between the celestial poles | ||
| ecliptic the great circle representing the apparent annual path of the sun; the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun; makes an angle of about 23 degrees with the equator; "all of the planets rotate the sun in approximately the same ecliptic" | ||
| equator an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles; "the equator is the boundary between the northern and southern hemispheres" | ||
| celestial horizon, horizon the range of interest or activity that can be anticipated; "It is beyond the horizon of present knowledge" | ||
| hour circle a great circle on the celestial sphere that passes through both celestial poles | ||
| line of longitude, meridian an imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth passing through the north and south poles at right angles to the equator; "all points on the same meridian have the same longitude" | ||
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Wiktionary 
Sailor's Word-BookThe Sailor's Word-Book ⛵
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great circle
One whose assumed plane passes through the centre of the sphere, dividing it equally.
Wikipedia 
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A great circle the largest possible circle that can be drawn on a sphere, one that divides the surface into equal halves, called hemispheres. It is a circle that has the same diameter as the sphere it was drawn on. These curves are geodesics in the sphere and all have the same circumference, that is, the length of the circle.
There are an infinite number of great circles that can be drawn on any perfect sphere. The latitude lines on a globe all form great circles that pass through the same two points (the North Pole and the South Pole). The Equator is another great circle.
Great Circles can be used to determine the shortest surface distance between two points on a sphere (or on the earth).
A straight line from plane Euclidean geometry corresponds to a Great Circle in non-Euclidean spherical geometry.
