Arcminutes (′) to Degrees (°) Conversion

Arcminutes

The arcminute (′, Unicode U+2032) is a unit of angle equal to exactly 1/60 of a degree, or π/10,800 radians. It is used in astronomy to describe the apparent size of celestial objects — the full Moon subtends approximately 30 arcminutes (half a degree) as seen from Earth. In navigation, position coordinates are routinely expressed in degrees and arcminutes: 51°30′N is the latitude of London. In optics, the resolving power of the human eye is approximately 1 arcminute, which is why standard vision charts are designed accordingly.

Degrees

The degree (°) is a unit of angular measurement equal to 1/360 of a full rotation, a convention inherited from ancient Babylonian astronomy which used a base-60 numeral system and approximated the year as 360 days — one degree for each day of apparent solar travel. The degree is subdivided into 60 arcminutes (′), each of which divides into 60 arcseconds (″), following the same sexagesimal tradition. It is the most widely used angle unit in everyday life, navigation, geography, and engineering outside of advanced mathematics.

Convert Arcminutes (′) to other units of Angle