Antipode Calculator: Find the Opposite Point on Earth for Any Latitude and Longitude
Find the antipode of any place: the point on the exact opposite side of the Earth, in decimal degrees and DMS, plus how close any second place comes to it.
How it works
Antipode latitude = −latitude · Antipode longitude = longitude − 180° if longitude > 0, otherwise longitude + 180° · Distance to the antipode = π × R = π × 6,371.0 km = 20,015 km (12,437 mi)
The antipode of a place is the point you would reach by drilling a straight line through the centre of the Earth: the diametrically opposite point. Finding it takes two steps. Flip the hemisphere of the latitude (40.4° N becomes 40.4° S) and move the longitude half way round the globe (3.7° W becomes 176.3° E), which in signed decimal degrees means changing the sign of the latitude and adding or subtracting 180° from the longitude so the answer stays between −180° and 180°. Any two antipodes are 20,015 km apart along the surface, the longest possible great-circle trip, so every route between them is equally short; on the WGS 84 ellipsoid the figure is about 20,004 km via the poles. You can type coordinates as decimal degrees or as degrees, minutes and seconds with N, S, E or W (O for oeste also works), and a decimal comma is accepted. Under More options, enter a second place to see how far it is from the exact antipode, a quick way to test claims such as “Madrid is opposite Wellington” (it is about 160 km off). The table lists well-known near-antipodal city pairs. Unlike the haversine distance calculator, which measures between two points you choose, this page constructs the opposite point for you. It uses a spherical Earth for distances; the antipode coordinates themselves are exact.
Worked example
Madrid is at 40.4168° N, 3.7038° W (40.4168, −3.7038). Changing the sign of the latitude gives −40.4168. The longitude is west, so add 180°: −3.7038 + 180 = 176.2962. The antipode is −40.416800, 176.296200, or 40° 25′ 00.5″ S, 176° 17′ 46.3″ E, on New Zealand’s North Island near the village of Weber, about 160 km from Wellington. It lies 20,015 km (12,437 mi) from Madrid, and its solar time is 12 hours different.
Sources: Omni Calculator: Antipode calculator (formula; Mount Everest and Cerro Torre examples) · Wikipedia: Antipodes (37° N 119° E ↔ 37° S 61° W example, antipodal city pairs, share of land)
Frequently asked questions
What is an antipode?
The point on the Earth’s surface diametrically opposite a given place, so that a straight line between them passes through the centre of the Earth. The word comes from Greek for “opposite feet”.
How do I calculate the antipode of a location?
Change the sign of the latitude, then add 180° to the longitude if it is west (negative) or subtract 180° if it is east (positive). For example, Mount Everest at 27.988, 86.925 has its antipode at −27.988, −93.075 in the Pacific Ocean.
What is the antipode of the United States?
Almost all of the US is opposite the southern Indian Ocean, southwest of Australia. Only small areas have land antipodes: part of northern Montana lies opposite the French Kerguelen Islands, a patch of eastern Colorado is opposite Île Amsterdam, and Hawaii is opposite Botswana in southern Africa.
Which cities are antipodes of each other?
Close pairs include Hong Kong and La Quiaca in Argentina (about 35 km off), A Coruña in Spain and Christchurch in New Zealand (about 90 km), Shanghai and Salto in Uruguay, and Taipei and Asunción. Madrid’s antipode is about 160 km from Wellington.
How far away is the antipode?
Half the Earth’s circumference: about 20,015 km or 12,437 miles over the surface on a spherical Earth, or 12,742 km in a straight line through the centre.
Do antipodes have opposite seasons and times?
Yes. Because they are in opposite hemispheres, one has summer while the other has winter (except on the equator), and their local solar time differs by 12 hours, so noon at one is midnight at the other. Official clock times can differ by 11 to 13 hours because of time zones and daylight saving.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.