Develop Reference

Parametric equation to place a leaflet marker on the circumference of a circle is not precise?

I am working on an application where I have the center of a circle and the radius and I am plotting the circle with the help of Leaflet.
I placed a marker on the north most end of the circumference and made it draggable.
var circle = L.circle(coords, radius).addTo(map);
convertRadiusToLatitude = parseInt(response.radius)/111111;
var coordsOnRadius = [parseFloat(response.lat) + convertRadiusToLatitude, parseFloat(response.long)];
var markerOnRadius = L.marker(coordsOnRadius, {draggable: true}).addTo(map);
Now, this adds the marker to the circumference and now I wanted it to be draggable only on the circumference itself for which I used the parametric equation.
Parametric equation
x = Xc + R * cos(theta)
y = Yc + R * sin(theta)
Code for dragging
markerOnRadius.on('drag', function(e){
bearing = marker.getLatLng().bearingTo(markerOnRadius.getLatLng());
var markerOnRadiusX = parseFloat(response.lat) + ((0.000009 * parseFloat(response.radius)) * Math.cos( toRad(bearing) ));
var markerOnRadiusY = parseFloat(response.long) + ((0.000009 * parseFloat(response.radius)) * Math.sin( toRad(bearing) ));
markerOnRadius.setLatLng([markerOnRadiusX, markerOnRadiusY]);
});
The bearingTo method:
L.LatLng.prototype.bearingTo = function(other) {
var d2r = L.LatLng.DEG_TO_RAD;
var r2d = L.LatLng.RAD_TO_DEG;
var lat1 = this.lat * d2r;
var lat2 = other.lat * d2r;
var dLon = (other.lng-this.lng) * d2r;
var y = Math.sin(dLon) * Math.cos(lat2);
var x = Math.cos(lat1)*Math.sin(lat2) - Math.sin(lat1)*Math.cos(lat2)*Math.cos(dLon);
var brng = Math.atan2(y, x);
brng = parseInt( brng * r2d );
brng = (brng + 360) % 360;
return brng;
};
Issue
When I start dragging the marker, this code is working fine and brings it back to the circumference at the bearing at which the marker is dragged to. But there is one problem, the coords on the circumference are slightly off and in terms of longitude. When the bearing is 0 (north), the coords are perfect, but when it is 90 (east), the longitude is slightly less that it should for the marker to be at the circumference.
Again at 180 (south), coords are perfect, but at 270 (west), the longitude calculated is slightly less and the marker tends towards the radius again.
So basically if you visualize the marker being dragged, it starts perfectly on the north end and starts coming inside the circle slightly increasing with the bearing till it reacher 90 and then starts going towards the circumference again till 180 when it is perfect again.
It forms more like a ellipse if you get the gist of it.
Could anyone tell me why is longitude coming a little off and why the marker moves in an elliptical path. Has it something to do with the world coordinates and window coordinates. Or are my equations slightly off somewhere?

It does look like a projection issue. In your dragging code you are basically doing
lat = a + r cos(baring)
long = b + r sin(baring)
giving a circle in the Lat-Long coordinates. This would work fine if you were at the equator with Mercator projection. You will get more distortion as you move further towards the polls.
Assume you are using the defaults for Leaflet reference doc You have the EPSG3857 Web Mercator coordinates.
If you want to ensure you have a exact circle it will be better to work using screen coordinates. You can get these using methods on the ICRS objects. First get the coordinate system L.CRS.EPSG3857 and use the latLngToPoint and pointToLatLng methods.
var crs = L.CRS.EPSG3857;
var zoom = ...; // how you calculate your zoom factor
markerOnRadius.on('drag', function(e){
var markerLL = marker.getLatLng()
var morLL = markerOnRadius.getLatLng();
var markerP = crs.latLngToPoint(markerLL,zoom);
var morP = crs.latLngToPoint(morLL,zoom);
// get the distance between the two points
var dist = markerP.distanceTo(morP);
// Get the vector from center to point
var A = morP.subtract(markerP);
// scale so its of the desired length
var B = A. multiplyBy( factor / dist);
// Add on the center
var C = markerP.add(B);
// Convert back to LatLong
var D = crs.pointToLatLng(C,zoom);
markerOnRadius.setLatLong(D);
});

swapping one library out for another

relatively simple task here but seeing as i'm just getting to grips with object oriented programming it is perplexing me. Im currently using the first function of lon_lat_to_cartesian:
function lonLatToVector3( lng, lat, out )
{
out = out || new THREE.Vector3();
//flips the Y axis
lat = PI / 2 - lat;
//distribute to sphere
out.set(
Math.sin( lat ) * Math.sin( lng ),
Math.cos( lat ),
Math.sin( lat ) * Math.cos( lng )
);
return out;
}
I call it within my glmain.js file using the following line:
position = lonLatToVector3(data.latitude, data.longitude);
(ie the latititude and longitude points given to it are turned into a vector)
I now wish to swap this library for latlon-vectors.js. Its the following lines(50-60) I want to use:
LatLon.prototype.toVector = function() {
var φ = this.lat.toRadians();
var λ = this.lon.toRadians();
// right-handed vector: x -> 0°E,0°N; y -> 90°E,0°N, z -> 90°N
var x = Math.cos(φ) * Math.cos(λ);
var y = Math.cos(φ) * Math.sin(λ);
var z = Math.sin(φ);
return new Vector3d(x, y, z);
};
to my limited newby knowledge this appears to be a method of the main object:
function LatLon(lat, lon) {
// allow instantiation without 'new'
if (!(this instanceof LatLon)) return new LatLon(lat, lon);
this.lat = Number(lat);
this.lon = Number(lon);
}
I'd have no problem calling this, i could just do:
position = LatLon(data.latitude, data.longitude);
but that would not accomplish my aim and convert my Lat, Lon points to a vector. how do I go on to call the aforementioned lines (50-60)?

looking at the code in latlon-vectors.js, in order to get the lat/lon into a vector you need to call:
var position = LatLon(data.latitude, data.longitude);
var vector = position.toVector();

Drawing a line with perpendicular decoration

I need to draw a line in the following manner:
 
For now, it will be only drawn in code, no user input.
My question is, how to draw perpendiculars to a line, if I draw it point by point? (Obviously, this will be the case, because drawing with bezier curves will not give me the possibility to somehow impact the drawing).
The closest answer I found was possibly this one, but I can't reverse the equations to derive C. Also there is no length of the decoration mentioned, so I think this will not work as I'd like it to.

Find the segment perpendicular to another one is quite easy.
Say we have points A, B.
Compute vector AB.
Normalize it to compute NAB (== the 'same' vector, but having a length of 1).
Then if a vector has (x,y) as coordinates, its normal vector has (-y,x) as coordinates, so
you can have PNAB easily (PNAB = perpendicular normal vector to AB).
// vector AB
var ABx = B.x - A.x ;
var ABy = B.y - A.y ;
var ABLength = Math.sqrt( ABx*ABx + ABy*ABy );
// normalized vector AB
var NABx = ABx / ABLength;
var NABy = ABy / ABLength;
// Perpendicular + normalized vector.
var PNABx = -NABy ;
var PNABy = NABx ;
last step is to compute D, the point that is at a distance l of A : just add l * PNAB to A :
// compute D = A + l * PNAB
var Dx = A.x + l* PNAB.x;
var Dy = A.y + l *PNAB.y;
Updated JSBIN :
http://jsbin.com/bojozibuvu/1/edit?js,output
Edit :
A second step is to draw the decorations at regular distance, since it's Christmas time, here's how i would do it :
http://jsbin.com/gavebucadu/1/edit?js,console,output
function drawDecoratedSegment(A, B, l, runningLength) {
// vector AB
var ABx = B.x - A.x;
var ABy = B.y - A.y;
var ABLength = Math.sqrt(ABx * ABx + ABy * ABy);
// normalized vector AB
var NABx = ABx / ABLength;
var NABy = ABy / ABLength;
// Perpendicular + normalized vector.
var PNAB = { x: -NABy, y: NABx };
//
var C = { x: 0, y: 0 };
var D = { x: 0, y: 0 };
//
drawSegment(A, B);
// end length of drawn segment
var endLength = runningLength + ABLength;
// while we can draw a decoration on this line
while (lastDecorationPos + decorationSpacing < endLength) {
// compute relative position of decoration.
var decRelPos = (lastDecorationPos + decorationSpacing) - runningLength;
// compute C, the start point of decoration
C.x = A.x + decRelPos * NABx;
C.y = A.y + decRelPos * NABy;
// compute D, the end point of decoration
D.x = C.x + l * PNAB.x;
D.y = C.y + l * PNAB.y;
// draw
drawSegment(C, D);
// iterate
lastDecorationPos += decorationSpacing;
}
return ABLength;
}

All you need is direction of curve (or polyline segment) in every point, where you want to draw perpendicular.
If direction vector in point P0 is (dx, dy), then perpendicular (left one) will have direction vector (-dy, dx). To draw perpendicular with length Len, use this pseudocode:
Norm = Sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy) //use Math.Hypot if available
P1.X = P0.X - Len * dy / Norm
P1.Y = P0.Y + Len * dx / Norm
P.S. If you know direction angle A, then direction vector
(dx, dy) = (Cos(A), Sin(A))
and you don't need to calculate Norm, it is equal to 1.0

How to plot points on a 3D sphere with ThreeJS

I just recently started delving into ThreeJS. Currently I'm trying to plot a point on a sphere but it appears to be plotting in the southern hemispehre instead of the northern hemisphere. Vertically, it looks to be in the correct spot just on the bottom of the sphere instead of the top. I grabbed some code from this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/8982005/738201
In the image the yellow line with the red box is my plotted point. It should be in the upstate NY region instead of where it is now.
And lastly, the code.
function xyz(lat, lon){
var cosLat = Math.cos(lat*Math.PI/180.00);
var sinLat = Math.sin(lat*Math.PI/180.00);
var cosLon = Math.cos(lon*Math.PI/180.00);
var sinLon = Math.sin(lon*Math.PI/180.00);
var r = sphere.geometry.radius; //50
var coords = {};
coords.x = r * cosLat * cosLon;
coords.y = r * cosLat * sinLon;
coords.z = r * sinLat;
console.log(coords);
return coords;
}
// Lat/Lon from GoogleMaps
var coords = xyz(42.654162, -73.699830);
// returns {x: 10.321018160637124, y: -35.29474079777381, z: 33.878575178802286}
I suspect that the issue may be using 2D coords on a 3D sphere but if so, I'm not quite sure how to rectify that.

Try this, It will help to use directly lat and long on the map
function calcPosFromLatLon(phi, theta){
let lat = (90 - phi) * (Math.PI/180);
let lon = (theta + 180) * (Math.PI/180);
const x = -(Math.sin(lat)* Math.cos(lon))
const z = Math.sin(lat) * Math.sin(lon)
const y = Math.cos(lat)
}
calcPosFromLatLon(//coordinates here//)

Google Maps Two Circles Intersection Points

Is there an easy way to get the lat/lng of the intersection points (if available) of two circles in Google Maps API V3? Or should I go with the hard way?
EDIT : In my problem, circles always have the same radius, in case that makes the solution easier.

Yes, for equal circles rather simple solution could be elaborated:
Let's first circle center is A point, second circle center is F, midpoint is C, and intersection points are B,D. ABC is right-angle spherical triangle with right angle C.
We want to find angle A - this is deviation angle from A-F direction. Spherical trigonometry (Napier's rules for right spherical triangles) gives us formula:
cos(A)= tg(AC) * ctg(AB)
where one symbol denote spherical angle, double symbols denote great circle arcs' angles (AB, AC). We can see that AB = circle radius (in radians, of course), AC = half-distance between A and F on the great circle arc.
To find AC (and other values) - I'll use code from this excellent page
var R = 6371; // km
var dLat = (lat2-lat1).toRad();
var dLon = (lon2-lon1).toRad();
var lat1 = lat1.toRad();
var lat2 = lat2.toRad();
var a = Math.sin(dLat/2) * Math.sin(dLat/2) +
Math.sin(dLon/2) * Math.sin(dLon/2) * Math.cos(lat1) * Math.cos(lat2);
var c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1-a));
and our
AC = c/2
If circle radius Rd is given is kilometers, then
AB = Rd / R = Rd / 6371
Now we can find angle
A = arccos(tg(AC) * ctg(AB))
Starting bearing (AF direction):
var y = Math.sin(dLon) * Math.cos(lat2);
var x = Math.cos(lat1)*Math.sin(lat2) -
Math.sin(lat1)*Math.cos(lat2)*Math.cos(dLon);
var brng = Math.atan2(y, x);
Intersection points' bearings:
B_bearing = brng - A
D_bearing = brng + A
Intersection points' coordinates:
var latB = Math.asin( Math.sin(lat1)*Math.cos(Rd/R) +
Math.cos(lat1)*Math.sin(Rd/R)*Math.cos(B_bearing) );
var lonB = lon1.toRad() + Math.atan2(Math.sin(B_bearing)*Math.sin(Rd/R)*Math.cos(lat1),
Math.cos(Rd/R)-Math.sin(lat1)*Math.sin(lat2));
and the same for D_bearing
latB, lonB are in radians

The computation the "hard" way can be simplified for the case r1 = r2 =: r. We still first have to convert the circle centers P1,P2 from (lat,lng) to Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z).
var DEG2RAD = Math.PI/180;
function LatLng2Cartesian(lat_deg,lng_deg)
{
var lat_rad = lat_deg*DEG2RAD;
var lng_rad = lng_deg*DEG2RAD;
var cos_lat = Math.cos(lat_rad);
return {x: Math.cos(lng_rad)*cos_lat,
y: Math.sin(lng_rad)*cos_lat,
z: Math.sin(lat_rad)};
}
var P1 = LatLng2Cartesian(lat1, lng1);
var P2 = LatLng2Cartesian(lat2, lng2);
But the intersection line of the planes holding the circles can be computed more easily. Let d be the distance of the actual circle center (in the plane) to the corresponding point P1 or P2 on the surface. A simple derivation shows (with R the earth's radius):
var R = 6371; // earth radius in km
var r = 100; // the direct distance (in km) of the given points to the intersections points
// if the value rs for the distance along the surface is known, it has to be converted:
// var r = 2*R*Math.sin(rs/(2*R*Math.PI));
var d = r*r/(2*R);
Now let S1 and S2 be the intersections points and S their mid-point. With s = |OS| and t = |SS1| = |SS2| (where O = (0,0,0) is the earth's center) we get from simple derivations:
var a = Math.acos(P1.x*P2.x + P1.y*P2.y + P1.z*P2.z); // the angle P1OP2
var s = (R-d)/Math.cos(a/2);
var t = Math.sqrt(R*R - s*s);
Now since r1 = r2 the points S, S1, S2 are in the mid-plane between P1 and P2. For v_s = OS we get:
function vecLen(v)
{ return Math.sqrt(v.x*v.x + v.y*v.y + v.z*v.z); }
function vecScale(scale,v)
{ return {x: scale*v.x, y: scale*v.y, z: scale*v.z}; }
var v = {x: P1.x+P2.x, y: P1.y+P2.y, z:P1.z+P2.z}; // P1+P2 is in the middle of OP1 and OP2
var S = vecScale(s/vecLen(v), v);
function crossProd(v1,v2)
{
return {x: v1.y*v2.z - v1.z*v2.y,
y: v1.z*v2.x - v1.x*v2.z,
z: v1.x*v2.y - v1.y*v2.x};
}
var n = crossProd(P1,P2); // normal vector to plane OP1P2 = vector along S1S2
var SS1 = vecScale(t/vecLen(n),n);
var S1 = {x: S.x+SS1.x, y: S.y+SS1.y, z: S.z+SS1.z}; // S + SS1
var S2 = {x: S.x-SS1.x, y: S.y-SS2.y, z: S.z-SS1.z}; // S - SS1
Finally we have to convert back to (lat,lng):
function Cartesian2LatLng(P)
{
var P_xy = {x: P.x, y:P.y, z:0}
return {lat: Math.atan2(P.y,P.x)/DEG2RAD, lng: Math.atan2(P.z,vecLen(P_xy))/DEG2RAD};
}
var S1_latlng = Cartesian2LatLng(S1);
var S2_latlng = Cartesian2LatLng(S2);

Yazanpro, sorry for the late response on this.
You may be interested in a concise variant of MBo's approach, which simplifies in two respects :
firstly by exploiting some of the built in features of the google.maps API to avoid much of the hard math.
secondly by using a 2D model for the calculation of the included angle, in place of MBo's spherical model. I was initially uncertain about the validity of this simplification but satisfied myself with tests in a fork of MBo's fiddle that the errors are minor at all but the largest of circles with respect to the size of the Earth (eg at low zoom levels).
Here's the function :
function getIntersections(circleA, circleB) {
/*
* Find the points of intersection of two google maps circles or equal radius
* circleA: a google.maps.Circle object
* circleB: a google.maps.Circle object
* returns: null if
* the two radii are not equal
* the two circles are coincident
* the two circles don't intersect
* otherwise returns: array containing the two points of intersection of circleA and circleB
*/
var R, centerA, centerB, D, h, h_;
try {
R = circleA.getRadius();
centerA = circleA.getCenter();
centerB = circleB.getCenter();
if(R !== circleB.getRadius()) {
throw( new Error("Radii are not equal.") );
}
if(centerA.equals(centerB)) {
throw( new Error("Circle centres are coincident.") );
}
D = google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeDistanceBetween(centerA, centerB); //Distance between the two centres (in meters)
// Check that the two circles intersect
if(D > (2 * R)) {
throw( new Error("Circles do not intersect.") );
}
h = google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeHeading(centerA, centerB); //Heading from centre of circle A to centre of circle B. (in degrees)
h_ = Math.acos(D / 2 / R) * 180 / Math.PI; //Included angle between the intersections (for either of the two circles) (in degrees). This is trivial only because the two radii are equal.
//Return an array containing the two points of intersection as google.maps.latLng objects
return [
google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeOffset(centerA, R, h + h_),
google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeOffset(centerA, R, h - h_)
];
}
catch(e) {
console.error("getIntersections() :: " + e.message);
return null;
}
}
No disrespect to MBo by the way - it's an excellent answer.