First time users, please scroll down to read instructions and tips.  Be sure to get the N, S, E, and W correct (that's North, South, East, and West, of course ). If you have to use "0" for a latitude or longitude, use an "N" for the hemisphere indicator.

To get the straight-line distance between two points on the Earth's surface, enter the latitude and longitude of each point. Tern Island's coordinates are already entered as the starting location, but you can replace those with a different starting location if you like. Be sure to get the N, S, E, and W correct (Capitalization and spacing is not important). Tern Island is in the Northern and Western Hemispheres, so its latitude has an N and its longitude has a W. 

If an albatrosses crosses the Equator, then its latitude will have an S because it will be in the Southern Hemisphere. If a bird crosses the International Date Line at 180 degrees, then its longitude will have an E because it will be in the Eastern Hemisphere. If you have to use "0" for a latitude or longitude, use an "N" for the hemisphere indicator.  The Equator is at 0 degrees; just type 0 N.  

Remember that if your bird crosses the International Date Line, at 180 degrees, it will then be in the Eastern Hemisphere.

This calculator uses the Great Circle Formula. Try comparing the result with what you get using the Pythagorean Theorem: Ideas 4 U.

CREDITS: Jeff Muday and Chris Marts made this Flight Distance Calculator. Great work guys.