Knowledge

Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system

Source 📝

831: 816: 66: 40: 1241: 1265: 1217: 1253: 1229: 700:
for a brass disk near Donner Summit, in California. Given the dimensions of the ellipsoid, the conversion from lat/lon/height-above-ellipsoid coordinates to X-Y-Z is straightforward—calculate the X-Y-Z for the given lat-lon on the surface of the ellipsoid and add the X-Y-Z vector that is
701:
perpendicular to the ellipsoid there and has length equal to the point's height above the ellipsoid. The reverse conversion is harder: given X-Y-Z can immediately get longitude, but no closed formula for latitude and height exists. See "
635:
may also be used. Due to differences between datums, the ECEF coordinates for a location will be different for different datums, although the differences between most modern datums is relatively small, within a few meters.
943: 1129: 425: 1197:
and geocentric (ECEF) or local Cartesian (ENU) coordinates. This provides accurate results for all inputs including points close to the center of the Earth.
247: 415: 383: 1290: 1174: 709:
the first iteration gives latitude correct within 10 degree as long as the point is within 10,000 meters above or 5,000 meters below the ellipsoid.
393: 1184: 1029: 373: 994: 1161: 1285: 154: 453: 662:(IRP), which does not exactly coincide with the Earth's rotational axis The slight "wobbling" of the rotational axis is known as 600: 718: 830: 239: 815: 692:
is also in the plane of the equator, passing through extending from 90°W longitude (negative) to 90°E longitude (positive)
255: 1133: 787: 954: 783: 736: 479: 1207: 795: 791: 659: 517:
systems for measuring locations on the surface of the Earth, but it is also used in applications such as tracking
658:
is the line between the North and South Poles, with positive values increasing northward. In WGS 84, this is the
624: 218: 612: 482: 185: 31: 132: 932: 822: 740: 732: 682: 283: 303: 65: 1171: 949: 446: 363: 113: 1108: 979: 632: 514: 353: 323: 263: 213: 139: 1269: 799: 724: 563: 175: 123: 1257: 1245: 763: 623:
that binds the coordinate system to actual locations on the Earth. The ECEF that is used for the
95: 1001: 1158: 1025: 767: 616: 592: 549: 195: 180: 1019: 1221: 779: 697: 599:
Conversions between ECEF and geodetic coordinates (latitude and longitude) are discussed at
439: 190: 17: 1024:. AIAA Education Series. American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics. p. 72. 570:
is a type of altitude defined as the difference between the two aforementioned quantities:
1194: 1178: 1165: 1078: 938: 702: 518: 743:, which use the observer's location as the reference point for bearings in altitude and 678: 648: 620: 506: 403: 170: 144: 1279: 755: 631:, which currently includes its own ellipsoid definition. Other local datums such as 1233: 751: 728: 663: 128: 1200: 1052: 677:, passing through the origin and extending from 180° longitude (negative) to the 524:
The distance from a given point of interest to the center of Earth is called the
85: 39: 490: 1053:"OGC Abstract Specification Topic 2: Referencing by coordinates Corrigendum" 775: 619:(in this case, a conventional three-dimensional right-handed system), and a 510: 164: 90: 48: 913: 902: 891: 880: 869: 858: 771: 343: 160: 149: 44: 1190: 744: 674: 223: 80: 57: 485:
that represents locations in the vicinity of the Earth (including its
628: 333: 293: 231: 1228: 486: 118: 38: 420: 313: 1187:
orientation of the coordinate system and additional information
759: 1181:
Clearer notes on converting ECEF coordinates to WGS-84 datum
647:
at the center of the chosen ellipsoid. In WGS 84, this is
639:
The ECEF coordinate system has the following parameters:
1172:
Datum Transformations of GPS Positions Application Note
1193:
includes a utility CartConvert which converts between
1205: 1168:
Notes on converting ECEF coordinates to WGS-84 datum
944:
International Terrestrial Reference System and Frame
43:
The ECEF coordinates (x, y, z) shown in relation to
509:. Its most common use is in tracking the orbits of 1107:Snay, Richard A.; Soler, Tomás (December 1999). 723:Geocentric coordinates can be used for locating 1109:"Modern Terrestrial Reference Systems (Part 1)" 666:, and can actually be measured against an ECEF. 1086:United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs 468:Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system 447: 8: 27:3-D coordinate system centered on the Earth 454: 440: 421:Spatial Reference System Identifier (SRID) 416:International Terrestrial Reference System 53: 1077:National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. 786:add actual distance as the Z axis to the 30:For broader coverage of this topic, see 1212: 966: 836:Polar view, Earth-centered, Earth fixed 56: 1079:"World Geodetic System 1984 datasheet" 920:(IRNSS are geosynchronous satellites) 7: 758:coordinates, with the center of the 279: 705:." Using Bowring's formula in 1976 681:(positive); in WGS 84, this is the 590:; it is not to be confused for the 547:, which is a generalization of the 426:Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) 388:European Terrestrial Ref. Sys. 1989 993:Clynch, James R. (February 2006). 808:An example of Earth-centered frame 562:, not restricted to points on the 493:, and surrounding outer space) as 298:Ordnance Survey Great Britain 1936 264:Discrete Global Grid and Geocoding 155:Horizontal position representation 25: 1263: 1251: 1239: 1227: 1215: 829: 814: 766:can be aligned with the Earth's 601:geographic coordinate conversion 214:Global Nav. Sat. Systems (GNSSs) 64: 1291:Astronomical coordinate systems 739:. They are differentiated from 719:Astronomical coordinate systems 615:, ECEF consists of an abstract 378:N. American Vertical Datum 1988 408:Internet link to a point 2010 338:Geodetic Reference System 1980 256:Quasi-Zenith Sat. Sys. (QZSS) 1: 398:Chinese obfuscated datum 2002 784:celestial coordinate systems 660:international reference pole 476:geocentric coordinate system 348:Geographic point coord. 1983 18:Geocentric coordinate system 1177:September 27, 2007, at the 955:Planetary coordinate system 796:galactic coordinate systems 308:Systema Koordinat 1942 goda 1307: 1057:Open Geospatial Consortium 737:Cartesian X, Y, and Z axes 716: 368:World Geodetic System 1984 29: 1286:Global Positioning System 1159:ECEF datum transformation 625:Global Positioning System 358:North American Datum 1983 328:South American Datum 1969 627:(GPS) is the geocentric 613:spatial reference system 483:spatial reference system 219:Global Pos. System (GPS) 186:Spatial reference system 32:Spatial reference system 1185:geodetic datum overview 1164:March 22, 2007, at the 1018:Chobotov, V.A. (2002). 976:GPS Satellite Surveying 933:Earth-centered inertial 823:Earth-centered inertial 741:topocentric coordinates 683:IERS Reference Meridian 673:is in the plane of the 974:Leick, Alfred (2004). 505:measurements from its 51: 1116:Professional Surveyor 950:Orbital state vectors 717:Further information: 474:), also known as the 114:Geographical distance 42: 725:astronomical objects 515:satellite navigation 288:Sea Level Datum 1929 140:Geodetic coordinates 995:"Earth Coordinates" 800:spherical astronomy 762:as the origin. The 568:geocentric altitude 564:reference ellipsoid 526:geocentric distance 318:European Datum 1950 276:Standards (history) 176:Reference ellipsoid 124:Figure of the Earth 1007:on April 18, 2015. 764:plane of reference 754:, astronomers use 696:An example is the 196:Vertical positions 52: 1031:978-1-60086-097-3 1021:Orbital Mechanics 768:celestial equator 617:coordinate system 593:geodetic altitude 550:geocentric radius 464: 463: 412: 411: 191:Spatial relations 181:Satellite geodesy 136: 16:(Redirected from 1298: 1268: 1267: 1266: 1256: 1255: 1254: 1244: 1243: 1242: 1232: 1231: 1220: 1219: 1218: 1211: 1146: 1145: 1143: 1141: 1136:on June 13, 2011 1132:. Archived from 1126: 1120: 1119: 1113: 1104: 1098: 1097: 1095: 1093: 1088:. United Nations 1083: 1074: 1068: 1067: 1065: 1063: 1049: 1043: 1042: 1040: 1038: 1015: 1009: 1008: 1006: 1000:. Archived from 999: 990: 984: 983: 971: 916: 911: 905: 900: 894: 889: 883: 878: 872: 867: 861: 856: 850: 848: 833: 818: 780:galactic equator 733:three dimensions 589: 576: 561: 546: 456: 449: 442: 280: 259: 251: 243: 235: 227: 167: 126: 68: 54: 21: 1306: 1305: 1301: 1300: 1299: 1297: 1296: 1295: 1276: 1275: 1274: 1264: 1262: 1252: 1250: 1240: 1238: 1226: 1216: 1214: 1206: 1179:Wayback Machine 1166:Wayback Machine 1155: 1150: 1149: 1139: 1137: 1128: 1127: 1123: 1111: 1106: 1105: 1101: 1091: 1089: 1081: 1076: 1075: 1071: 1061: 1059: 1051: 1050: 1046: 1036: 1034: 1032: 1017: 1016: 1012: 1004: 997: 992: 991: 987: 973: 972: 968: 963: 939:Geodetic system 929: 924: 923: 922: 921: 919: 909: 908: 898: 897: 887: 886: 876: 875: 865: 864: 854: 853: 846: 845: 839: 838: 837: 834: 826: 825: 819: 810: 809: 721: 715: 703:Geodetic system 609: 588: 574: 571: 560: 554: 529: 460: 431: 430: 277: 269: 268: 257: 249: 241: 233: 225: 209: 201: 200: 159: 109: 101: 100: 76: 35: 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1304: 1302: 1294: 1293: 1288: 1278: 1277: 1273: 1272: 1260: 1248: 1236: 1224: 1204: 1203: 1198: 1188: 1182: 1169: 1154: 1153:External links 1151: 1148: 1147: 1130:"Polar motion" 1121: 1099: 1069: 1044: 1030: 1010: 985: 965: 964: 962: 959: 958: 957: 952: 947: 941: 936: 928: 925: 918: 917: 906: 895: 884: 873: 862: 851: 842: 841: 840: 835: 828: 827: 820: 813: 812: 811: 807: 806: 805: 804: 714: 711: 694: 693: 686: 679:prime meridian 667: 652: 649:center of mass 621:geodetic datum 608: 605: 586: 558: 507:center of mass 462: 461: 459: 458: 451: 444: 436: 433: 432: 429: 428: 423: 418: 410: 409: 406: 400: 399: 396: 390: 389: 386: 380: 379: 376: 370: 369: 366: 360: 359: 356: 350: 349: 346: 340: 339: 336: 330: 329: 326: 320: 319: 316: 310: 309: 306: 300: 299: 296: 290: 289: 286: 278: 275: 274: 271: 270: 267: 266: 261: 253: 245: 237: 229: 221: 216: 210: 207: 206: 203: 202: 199: 198: 193: 188: 183: 178: 173: 171:Map projection 168: 157: 152: 147: 145:Geodetic datum 142: 137: 121: 116: 110: 107: 106: 103: 102: 99: 98: 93: 88: 83: 77: 74: 73: 70: 69: 61: 60: 26: 24: 14: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1303: 1292: 1289: 1287: 1284: 1283: 1281: 1271: 1261: 1259: 1249: 1247: 1237: 1235: 1230: 1225: 1223: 1213: 1209: 1202: 1199: 1196: 1192: 1191:GeographicLib 1189: 1186: 1183: 1180: 1176: 1173: 1170: 1167: 1163: 1160: 1157: 1156: 1152: 1135: 1131: 1125: 1122: 1117: 1110: 1103: 1100: 1087: 1080: 1073: 1070: 1058: 1054: 1048: 1045: 1033: 1027: 1023: 1022: 1014: 1011: 1003: 996: 989: 986: 981: 977: 970: 967: 960: 956: 953: 951: 948: 945: 942: 940: 937: 934: 931: 930: 926: 915: 907: 904: 896: 893: 885: 882: 874: 871: 863: 860: 852: 844: 843: 832: 824: 817: 803: 801: 797: 793: 789: 785: 781: 777: 773: 769: 765: 761: 757: 753: 748: 746: 742: 738: 734: 730: 726: 720: 712: 710: 708: 707:Survey Review 704: 699: 691: 687: 684: 680: 676: 672: 668: 665: 661: 657: 653: 651:of the Earth. 650: 646: 642: 641: 640: 637: 634: 630: 626: 622: 618: 614: 606: 604: 602: 597: 595: 594: 585: 581: 577: 569: 566:surface. The 565: 557: 552: 551: 544: 540: 536: 532: 527: 522: 520: 516: 512: 508: 504: 500: 496: 492: 488: 484: 481: 477: 473: 469: 457: 452: 450: 445: 443: 438: 437: 435: 434: 427: 424: 422: 419: 417: 414: 413: 407: 405: 402: 401: 397: 395: 392: 391: 387: 385: 382: 381: 377: 375: 372: 371: 367: 365: 362: 361: 357: 355: 352: 351: 347: 345: 342: 341: 337: 335: 332: 331: 327: 325: 322: 321: 317: 315: 312: 311: 307: 305: 302: 301: 297: 295: 292: 291: 287: 285: 282: 281: 273: 272: 265: 262: 260: 254: 252: 246: 244: 238: 236: 232:BeiDou (BDS) 230: 228: 222: 220: 217: 215: 212: 211: 205: 204: 197: 194: 192: 189: 187: 184: 182: 179: 177: 174: 172: 169: 166: 162: 158: 156: 153: 151: 148: 146: 143: 141: 138: 134: 133:circumference 130: 125: 122: 120: 117: 115: 112: 111: 105: 104: 97: 94: 92: 89: 87: 84: 82: 79: 78: 72: 71: 67: 63: 62: 59: 55: 50: 46: 41: 37: 33: 19: 1270:Solar System 1138:. Retrieved 1134:the original 1124: 1115: 1102: 1092:December 16, 1090:. Retrieved 1085: 1072: 1062:December 25, 1060:. Retrieved 1056: 1047: 1035:. Retrieved 1020: 1013: 1002:the original 988: 975: 969: 849:  Earth 821:Polar view, 756:heliocentric 752:nearby stars 749: 729:Solar System 722: 713:In astronomy 706: 695: 689: 670: 664:polar motion 655: 644: 638: 611:As with any 610: 598: 591: 583: 579: 572: 567: 555: 548: 542: 538: 534: 530: 525: 523: 502: 498: 494: 489:, interior, 475: 471: 467: 465: 208:Technologies 163: / 75:Fundamentals 36: 1258:Outer space 1246:Spaceflight 1140:December 7, 1037:October 24, 782:. These 3D 86:Geodynamics 1280:Categories 961:References 788:equatorial 735:along the 511:satellites 491:atmosphere 1222:Astronomy 1201:EPSG:4978 776:Milky Way 774:, or the 607:Structure 480:cartesian 470:(acronym 165:Longitude 91:Geomatics 49:longitude 1195:geodetic 1175:Archived 1162:Archived 927:See also 914:IRNSS-1I 903:IRNSS-1G 892:IRNSS-1F 881:IRNSS-1E 870:IRNSS-1C 859:IRNSS-1B 798:used in 792:ecliptic 772:ecliptic 698:NGS data 521:motion. 344:ISO 6709 242:(Europe) 240:Galileo 226:(Russia) 224:GLONASS 161:Latitude 150:Geodesic 108:Concepts 45:latitude 1208:Portals 745:azimuth 727:in the 675:equator 519:crustal 513:and in 487:surface 478:, is a 404:Geo URI 374:NAVD 88 284:NGVD 29 258:(Japan) 250:(India) 234:(China) 96:History 81:Geodesy 58:Geodesy 1028:  946:(ITRS) 912:  910:  901:  899:  890:  888:  879:  877:  868:  866:  857:  855:  847:  794:, and 770:, the 690:Y axis 671:X axis 656:Z axis 645:origin 633:NAD 83 629:WGS 84 501:, and 394:GCJ-02 384:ETRS89 364:WGS 84 354:NAD 83 334:GRS 80 294:OSGB36 248:NAVIC 129:radius 1234:Stars 1112:(PDF) 1082:(PDF) 1005:(PDF) 998:(PDF) 980:Wiley 935:(ECI) 324:SAD69 304:SK-42 119:Geoid 1142:2010 1094:2021 1064:2018 1039:2021 1026:ISBN 750:For 688:The 669:The 654:The 643:The 472:ECEF 466:The 314:ED50 131:and 47:and 778:'s 760:Sun 731:in 533:= ( 1282:: 1114:. 1084:. 1055:. 978:. 802:. 790:, 747:. 603:. 596:. 582:− 578:= 553:, 541:+ 537:+ 528:, 497:, 1210:: 1144:. 1118:. 1096:. 1066:. 1041:. 982:. 685:. 587:0 584:R 580:R 575:′ 573:h 559:0 556:R 545:) 543:Z 539:Y 535:X 531:R 503:Z 499:Y 495:X 455:e 448:t 441:v 135:) 127:( 34:. 20:)

Index

Geocentric coordinate system
Spatial reference system

latitude
longitude
Geodesy

Geodesy
Geodynamics
Geomatics
History
Geographical distance
Geoid
Figure of the Earth
radius
circumference
Geodetic coordinates
Geodetic datum
Geodesic
Horizontal position representation
Latitude
Longitude
Map projection
Reference ellipsoid
Satellite geodesy
Spatial reference system
Spatial relations
Vertical positions
Global Nav. Sat. Systems (GNSSs)
Global Pos. System (GPS)

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.