Stretching a string between North America and Japan on a globe will demonstrate why this really is the shortest route despite appearances. The apparent curve of the route is a result of distortion when plotted onto a conventional map projection and makes the route appear to be longer than it really is. In the example (right), the aircraft travelling westward from North America to Japan is following a great-circle route extending northward towards the Arctic region. The absolute distance between two points is the great-circle distance, which is always the shortest geographical route. Superlative flights Īirline routes between San Francisco and Tokyo following the most direct great circle (top) westward, and following a longer-distance jet stream route (bottom) when heading eastward
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