Nathanael_Greene
Member
I am continually amazed at the erudition of The High Road's members.
Minute of Angle
- Thread starter sumpnz
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Alerion
Member
Getting even farther off the subject here... 
As interesting as it is that a MOA comes out to be roughly 1" at 100 yards, a unit of linear distance that many of us are familiar with is actually defined by the length of one minute (MOA) at a given radius.
Any ideas what that unit is?
BTW, I'll make the assumption that some of the people reading this aren't really sure what a Minute of Angle (MOA) is so I'll add an explainantion. A minute is 1/60th of a degree. Furthermore, a second is 1/60th of a minute or 1/3600th of a degree. Sound familiar? Probably too much so. That's why, although the correct term is minutes or seconds you'll hear the expression "of angle" added when the term is being used stand-alone in order to differentiate it from time. (It's a lot harder to fire five shots in a circle in 1 minute of angle than 1 minute of time unless you're using a muzzleloader.)
Anyway, decimal degrees are easier to handle for most people especially using calculators. It's easier to punch in 22.5 degrees than it is to enter 22 degrees 30 minutes although the two are equivalent. But, as most of my former students know, when I ask a question and follow it with a lengthy explaination of something there's usually a clue involved somewhere. Or not! 
Tom
As interesting as it is that a MOA comes out to be roughly 1" at 100 yards, a unit of linear distance that many of us are familiar with is actually defined by the length of one minute (MOA) at a given radius.
Any ideas what that unit is?
BTW, I'll make the assumption that some of the people reading this aren't really sure what a Minute of Angle (MOA) is so I'll add an explainantion. A minute is 1/60th of a degree. Furthermore, a second is 1/60th of a minute or 1/3600th of a degree. Sound familiar? Probably too much so. That's why, although the correct term is minutes or seconds you'll hear the expression "of angle" added when the term is being used stand-alone in order to differentiate it from time. (It's a lot harder to fire five shots in a circle in 1 minute of angle than 1 minute of time unless you're using a muzzleloader.)
Anyway, decimal degrees are easier to handle for most people especially using calculators. It's easier to punch in 22.5 degrees than it is to enter 22 degrees 30 minutes although the two are equivalent. But, as most of my former students know, when I ask a question and follow it with a lengthy explaination of something there's usually a clue involved somewhere. Or not! Tom
Alerion
Member
The sand is washing out from underneath us?
Hey, I do math not English!
Tom
30Cal
Member
...which is 2000yds as far as I'm concerned.
Alerion
Member
Close. I was thinking more of a traditional measurement that required a legal definition to eliminate variation.
Tom
30Cal
Member
1 min of latitude = 1nm?
Alerion
Member
Actually I'll have to give it to both TimRB and 30Cal since a nautical mile is defined as one minute of arc. That's a better answer than what I was looking for where a precise definition of mille passuum ( a thousand paces) was required so the radius of the earth was defined by statute and the unit was based on a minute of that distance. It came out to be somewhat less than a nautical mile. Other than the legal definition this measurement probably had no reason to exist.
Sounds almost like European logic but we can't really blame this one on them.
Tom
Sounds almost like European logic but we can't really blame this one on them.
Tom
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