Geocentric Transformations¶

Geocentric longitude, latitude, altitude coordinates represent positions relative to a spherical Earth's surface. These coordinates can be converted to and from Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed (ECEF) Cartesian coordinates. This coordinate system is simpler and computationally faster than the geodetic system, but less accurate for near-surface applications because it assumes Earth is a perfect sphere.

For complete API details, see the Geocentric Coordinates API Reference.

Geocentric Coordinate System¶

Geocentric coordinates represent a position using:

Longitude (\(\lambda\)): East-west angle from the prime meridian, in degrees [-180°, +180°] or radians \([-\pi, +\pi]\)
Latitude (\(\varphi\)): North-south angle from the equatorial plane, in degrees [-90°, +90°] or radians \([-\frac{\pi}{2}, +\frac{\pi}{2}]\)
Altitude (\(h\)): Height above the spherical Earth surface, in meters

Combined as: [longitude, latitude, altitude], often abbreviated as [lon, lat, alt].

Info

The spherical Earth model uses an Earth radius of 6378137.0 meters, which is the WGS84 semi-major axis. This means the geocentric "surface" is a sphere with Earth's equatorial radius.

Spherical vs Ellipsoidal Earth¶

The key difference between geocentric and geodetic coordinates is the Earth model:

Geocentric: Earth is a perfect sphere of radius WGS84_A
Geodetic: Earth is an ellipsoid (oblate spheroid) with equatorial bulge

Converting Geocentric to ECEF¶

Earth-Centered Earth-Fixed (ECEF) is a Cartesian coordinate system with:

Origin at Earth's center of mass
X-axis through the intersection of the prime meridian and equator
Z-axis through the North Pole
Y-axis completing a right-handed system

You can convert geocentric spherical coordinates to ECEF Cartesian coordinates using following:

PythonRust

import brahe as bh
import numpy as np

bh.initialize_eop()

# Define a location in geocentric coordinates (spherical Earth model)
# Boulder, Colorado (approximately)
lon = -122.4194  # Longitude (deg)
lat = 37.7749  # Latitude (deg)
alt = 13.8  # Altitude above spherical Earth surface (m)

print("Geocentric coordinates (spherical Earth model):")
print(f"Longitude: {lon:.4f}° = {np.radians(lon):.6f} rad")
print(f"Latitude:  {lat:.4f}° = {np.radians(lat):.6f} rad")
print(f"Altitude:  {alt:.1f} m\n")
# Longitude: -122.4194° = -2.136622 rad
# Latitude:  37.7749° = 0.659296 rad
# Altitude:  13.8 m

# Convert geocentric to ECEF Cartesian
geocentric = np.array([lon, lat, alt])
ecef = bh.position_geocentric_to_ecef(geocentric, bh.AngleFormat.DEGREES)

print("ECEF Cartesian coordinates:")
print(f"x = {ecef[0]:.3f} m")
print(f"y = {ecef[1]:.3f} m")
print(f"z = {ecef[2]:.3f} m")
print(f"Distance from Earth center: {np.linalg.norm(ecef):.3f} m\n")
# x = -2702779.686 m
# y = -4255713.575 m
# z = 3907005.447 m
# Distance from Earth center: 6378150.800 m

use brahe as bh;
use nalgebra as na;

fn main() {
    bh::initialize_eop().unwrap();

    // Define a location in geocentric coordinates (spherical Earth model)
    // Boulder, Colorado (approximately)
    let lon = -122.4194_f64;  // Longitude (deg)
    let lat = 37.7749_f64;    // Latitude (deg)
    let alt = 13.8;           // Altitude above spherical Earth surface (m)

    println!("Geocentric coordinates (spherical Earth model):");
    println!("Longitude: {:.4}° = {:.6} rad", lon, lon.to_radians());
    println!("Latitude:  {:.4}° = {:.6} rad", lat, lat.to_radians());
    println!("Altitude:  {:.1} m\n", alt);
    // Expected output:
    // Longitude: -122.4194° = -2.136622 rad
    // Latitude:  37.7749° = 0.659296 rad
    // Altitude:  13.8 m

    // Convert geocentric to ECEF Cartesian
    let geocentric = na::Vector3::new(lon, lat, alt);
    let ecef = bh::position_geocentric_to_ecef(geocentric, bh::AngleFormat::Degrees).unwrap();

    println!("ECEF Cartesian coordinates:");
    println!("x = {:.3} m", ecef[0]);
    println!("y = {:.3} m", ecef[1]);
    println!("z = {:.3} m", ecef[2]);
    let distance = (ecef[0].powi(2) + ecef[1].powi(2) + ecef[2].powi(2)).sqrt();
    println!("Distance from Earth center: {:.3} m", distance);
    // Expected output:
    // x = -2702779.686 m
    // y = -4255713.575 m
    // z = 3907005.447 m
    // Distance from Earth center: 6378150.800 m
}

Converting ECEF to Geocentric¶

The reverse transformation converts Cartesian ECEF coordinates back to geocentric spherical coordinates:

PythonRust

import brahe as bh
import numpy as np

bh.initialize_eop()

# Define a satellite state (convert orbital elements to ECEF state)
epc = bh.Epoch(2024, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0.0, time_system=bh.UTC)
state_oe = np.array(
    [
        bh.R_EARTH + 500e3,  # Semi-major axis (m)
        0.0,  # Eccentricity
        97.8,  # Inclination (deg)
        15.0,  # Right ascension of ascending node (deg)
        30.0,  # Argument of periapsis (deg)
        45.0,  # Mean anomaly (deg)
    ]
)
state_ecef = bh.state_eci_to_ecef(
    epc, bh.state_koe_to_eci(state_oe, bh.AngleFormat.DEGREES)
)
print("ECEF Cartesian state [x, y, z, vx, vy, vz] (m, m/s):")
print(f"Position: [{state_ecef[0]:.3f}, {state_ecef[1]:.3f}, {state_ecef[2]:.3f}]")
print(f"Velocity: [{state_ecef[3]:.6f}, {state_ecef[4]:.6f}, {state_ecef[5]:.6f}]\n")
# Position: [-735665.465, -1838913.314, 6586801.432]
# Velocity: [-1060.370171, 7357.551468, 1935.662061]

# Convert ECEF Cartesian to geocentric position
ecef_pos = state_ecef[0:3]
geocentric = bh.position_ecef_to_geocentric(ecef_pos, bh.AngleFormat.DEGREES)
print("Geocentric coordinates (spherical Earth model):")
print(f"Longitude: {geocentric[0]:.4f}° = {np.radians(geocentric[0]):.6f} rad")
print(f"Latitude:  {geocentric[1]:.4f}° = {np.radians(geocentric[1]):.6f} rad")
print(f"Altitude:  {geocentric[2]:.1f} m")
# Longitude: -111.8041° = -1.951350 rad
# Latitude:  73.2643° = 1.278704 rad
# Altitude:  499999.3 m

use brahe as bh;
use nalgebra as na;

fn main() {
    bh::initialize_eop().unwrap();

    // Define a satellite state (convert orbital elements to ECEF state)
    let epc = bh::Epoch::from_datetime(2024, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0.0, 0.0, bh::TimeSystem::UTC);
    let state_oe = na::SVector::<f64, 6>::new(
        bh::R_EARTH + 500e3,  // Semi-major axis (m)
        0.0,                  // Eccentricity
        97.8_f64,             // Inclination (deg)
        15.0_f64,             // Right ascension of ascending node (deg)
        30.0_f64,             // Argument of periapsis (deg)
        45.0_f64              // Mean anomaly (deg)
    );
    let state_eci = bh::state_koe_to_eci(state_oe, bh::AngleFormat::Degrees);
    let state_ecef = bh::state_eci_to_ecef(epc, state_eci);

    println!("ECEF Cartesian state [x, y, z, vx, vy, vz] (m, m/s):");
    println!("Position: [{:.3}, {:.3}, {:.3}]", state_ecef[0], state_ecef[1], state_ecef[2]);
    println!("Velocity: [{:.6}, {:.6}, {:.6}]\n", state_ecef[3], state_ecef[4], state_ecef[5]);
    // Expected output:
    // Position: [-735665.465, -1838913.314, 6586801.432]
    // Velocity: [-1060.370171, 7357.551468, 1935.662061]

    // Convert ECEF Cartesian to geocentric position
    let ecef_pos = na::Vector3::new(state_ecef[0], state_ecef[1], state_ecef[2]);
    let geocentric = bh::position_ecef_to_geocentric(ecef_pos, bh::AngleFormat::Degrees);

    println!("Geocentric coordinates (spherical Earth model):");
    println!("Longitude: {:.4}° = {:.6} rad", geocentric[0], geocentric[0].to_radians());
    println!("Latitude:  {:.4}° = {:.6} rad", geocentric[1], geocentric[1].to_radians());
    println!("Altitude:  {:.1} m", geocentric[2]);
    // Expected output:
    // Longitude: -111.8041° = -1.951350 rad
    // Latitude:  73.2643° = 1.278704 rad
    // Altitude:  499999.3 m
}

Info

Latitude values are automatically constrained to the valid range [-90°, +90°] or [\(-\frac{\pi}{2}\), \(+\frac{\pi}{2}\)] during conversion.