Latitude averages out. Astronomical latitude is not to be confused with declination, the coordinate astronomers use in a similar way to specify the angular position of stars north/south of the celestial equator (see equatorial coordinates), nor with ecliptic latitude, the coordinate that astronomers use to specify the angular position of stars north/south of the ecliptic (see ecliptic coordinates). Latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the Earth's surface. Latitude is an angle (defined below) which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° (North or South) at the poles. Lines of
Equivalent latitude is the radius of the Earth. This method generates a mapping that is as continuous as the data allows as opposed to binning which produces a coarse-grained mapping. Equivalent latitude In differential geometry, the equivalent latitude is a Lagrangian coordinate . It is often used in atmospheric science, particularly in the study of stratospheric dynamics. Each isoline in a map of equivalent latitude follows the flow velocity and encloses the same area as the latitude line of equivalent value, hence "equivalent latitude." Equivalent latitude is calculated from potential vorticity, from passive tracer simulations and from actual measurements of atmospheric tracers