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coordinates Math problem

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by johnnyextreme

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I have a list of addresses, let's say I have coordinates for each of these addresses - x and y. Is there a formula I can use in Excel that I could plug in coordinates for two locations and get back a number that is the distance between these two coordinates?

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by zalog

Here's a formula that will compute the distance between two points given the latitude and longitude.

Distance=Square Root((((Latitude1 - Latitude2)*69.0)^2) + (((Longitude1 - Longitude2)*((cos(Latitude1) + cos(Latitide2))/2)*69.172)^2))

Notes:
The distance is computed in miles.

The cosign functions are for degrees. If your program (Excel) uses radians multiply the longitude or latitude value by pi (3.141592654 approx.) and divide by 180 before computing the cosign.

This forumla calculates distances for a plane (not a sphere) so the formula breaks down of the points are on opposite side of the earth.

I have an Excel Worksheet example. If you would like a copy I can email it to you.

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