Why does this great circle bend?
#1
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Why does this great circle bend?
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Because the destination is beyond the "horizon" and wouldn't normally be seen from that point of view. The ground beyond the horizon is being displayed on that map in a very compressed scale so that the destination will be included.
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gcmap.com's azimuthal equidistant map algorithm isn't perfectly accurate at the extreme edges. That would be my guess. Google says you're at 49.76% of the earth's diameter, so you're stretching the limits.
#6
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Looks like a perspective issue to me, due to centering your starting point on the map. If you could rotate the image so that the map was centered somewhere around Bermuda, it would very likely display as a smooth arc.
Like this: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=akl-svq...505%B0+W&DU=mi
Like this: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=akl-svq...505%B0+W&DU=mi
Last edited by Qwkynuf; Jul 18, 2017 at 7:18 pm Reason: Added link to recentered map
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Better view on it http://www.greatcirclemap.com/AKL-SVQ