<p>Yes, they have coordinate systems as well. For example, the Wikipedia page on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot" rel="noreferrer">Great Red Spot</a> mentions it lies 22 degrees south of the planet's equator. Jupiter has a polar radius of 66,854 km; a latitude degree is $2 \pi / 360$ times that, so almost 1,167 km.</p>

<p>Note that because Jupiter lacks a solid surface, longitudes are less well-defined. In fact, there are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Jupiter#Great_Red_Spot" rel="noreferrer">three different systems</a> for this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Because Jupiter's visible features do not rotate uniformly at all latitudes, astronomers have defined three different systems for defining the longitude.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Rocky planets like Mars do have a well-defined coordinate system, as shown in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars#/media/File:USGS-MarsMap-sim3292-20140714-crop.png" rel="noreferrer">this map</a> and on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_quadrangles_on_Mars" rel="noreferrer">this page</a>.</p>

<p>These coordinates are used to mark and find interesting places on either the surface (like on Earth) or in the atmosphere of a planet. There are also tables available showing which latitude/longitude is directed towards us at a certain moment, so that you can compute whether a particular region of the planet is visible from Earth or not.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T17:05:57.643Z
2018-07-09T17:11:36.617Z
2018-07-09T17:11:36.617Z
Glorfindel
<p>Do planets like Jupiter have a system of latitudes and longitudes (I believe yes)? So if yes, what purpose do they serve? Is there anything different in their purpose from Earth lat-longs? and What would be the average distance between each 1-degree latitude on Jupiter?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T17:04:42.283Z
You can calculate this easily enough by looking up the diameter of Jupiter (and, if necessary, the definition of a degree of latitude or  longitude)
Carl Witthoft
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T04:21:24.653Z
Thank you for letting me know, I wasn't sure on how to go about calculating this.
Arjun Satheesh
<distances><jupiter>
What would be the average distance between each 1-degree latitude on Jupiter?
Arjun Satheesh
# What would be the average distance between each 1-degree latitude on Jupiter?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-09)

Do planets like Jupiter have a system of latitudes and longitudes (I believe yes)? So if yes, what purpose do they serve? Is there anything different in their purpose from Earth lat-longs? and What would be the average distance between each 1-degree latitude on Jupiter?

**Tags:** distances, jupiter
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You can calculate this easily enough by looking up the diameter of Jupiter (and, if necessary, the definition of a degree of latitude or  longitude)  
> **username_0**: Thank you for letting me know, I wasn't sure on how to go about calculating this.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-07-09. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Yes, they have coordinate systems as well. For example, the Wikipedia page on the [Great Red Spot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot) mentions it lies 22 degrees south of the planet's equator. Jupiter has a polar radius of 66,854 km; a latitude degree is $2 \pi / 360$ times that, so almost 1,167 km.

Note that because Jupiter lacks a solid surface, longitudes are less well-defined. In fact, there are [three different systems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Jupiter#Great_Red_Spot) for this:

> Because Jupiter's visible features do not rotate uniformly at all latitudes, astronomers have defined three different systems for defining the longitude.

Rocky planets like Mars do have a well-defined coordinate system, as shown in [this map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars#/media/File:USGS-MarsMap-sim3292-20140714-crop.png) and on [this page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_quadrangles_on_Mars).

These coordinates are used to mark and find interesting places on either the surface (like on Earth) or in the atmosphere of a planet. There are also tables available showing which latitude/longitude is directed towards us at a certain moment, so that you can compute whether a particular region of the planet is visible from Earth or not.


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