Circle of a sphere Circle of a sphere A circle of a sphere is a circle that lies on a sphere. Such a circle can be formed as the intersection of a sphere and a plane, or of two spheres. A circle on a sphere whose plane passes through the center of the sphere is called a great circle; otherwise it is a small circle. Circles of a sphere have radius less than or equal to the sphere radius, with equality when the circle is a great circle. In the geographic coordinate system on a globe, the parallels of latitude are such circles, with
Distance from a point to a line a side, and "h" is the perpendicular height from the opposite vertex. This proof is only valid if the line is neither vertical nor horizontal, that is, we assume that neither "a" nor "b" in the equation of the line is zero. The line with equation "ax" + "by" + "c" = 0 has slope -"a"/"b", so any line perpendicular to it will have slope "b"/"a" (the negative reciprocal). Let ("m", "n") be the point of intersection of the line "ax" + "by" + "c" = 0 and the line perpendicular to it which passes through the point ("x", "y").