great circle — n. any circle described on the surface of a sphere by a plane which passes through the center of the sphere; specif., such a circle on the earth s surface: a course (great circle course) plotted along a great circle of the earth is the shortest… … English World dictionary
Great Circle — *Great circle is a circle on the surface of a sphere. *Great Circle is also a fictional organization from Andromeda Nebula, a novel by Ivan Yefremov … Wikipedia
great circle — ► NOUN ▪ a circle on the surface of a sphere which lies in a plane passing through the sphere s centre, especially as representing the shortest path between two given points on the sphere … English terms dictionary
Great circle — For fictional interstellar organization called Great Circle, see Andromeda (novel). A great circle divides the sphere in two equal hemispheres A great circle, also known as a Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a… … Wikipedia
great circle — noun a circular line on the surface of a sphere formed by intersecting it with a plane passing through the center • Hypernyms: ↑line • Hyponyms: ↑celestial equator, ↑equinoctial circle, ↑equinoctial line, ↑equinoctial, ↑ecliptic, ↑ … Useful english dictionary
great circle — noun a) A circle defined as the intersection of the surface of a sphere and a plane which passes through the centre of the sphere. Wherever a navigator may be, it certainly would be to his advantage to be able to find the great circle, or… … Wiktionary
Great-circle navigation — is the practice of navigating a vessel (such as a ship or aircraft) along a track that follows a great circle. A great circle track is the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the earth. MethodsIn order to construct a great… … Wikipedia
Great circle of a sphere — Great Great (gr[=a]t), a. [Compar. {Greater}; superl. {Greatest}.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre[ a]t; akin to OS. & LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, G. gross. Cf. {Groat} the coin.] 1. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous;… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Great circle sailing — Great Great (gr[=a]t), a. [Compar. {Greater}; superl. {Greatest}.] [OE. gret, great, AS. gre[ a]t; akin to OS. & LG. gr[=o]t, D. groot, OHG. gr[=o]z, G. gross. Cf. {Groat} the coin.] 1. Large in space; of much size; big; immense; enormous;… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
great circle — great′ cir′cle n. 1) math. a circle on a sphere such that the plane containing the circle passes through the center of the sphere 2) naut. geo a circle of which a segment represents the shortest distance between two points on the surface of the… … From formal English to slang
Two great circle in a sphere.