Miles to Nautical Miles Converter.
An excellent tool for anyone involved in travel over great distances — water or air — is a Miles to Nautical Miles Converter. As stated, this converter immediately converts distance from standard miles (land miles) to nautical miles utilized principally within the fields of marine and air navigation.
About Miles and Nautical Miles
Distance can be measured in miles or nautical miles, although the two are used to express distance in different ways and are measured in different ways.
Miles (Statute Miles):
The mile is a commonly used unit in the United States and the United Kingdom for calculations of distances in road measurements and for everyday distance calculations. 1.60934 Kilometers is approximately how many 5,280 feet or one mile
Nautical Miles:
More specifically, nautical miles are used in maritime and aviation contexts in the measurement of distances over water or in the air. The nautical mile is derived from Earth’s curvature and is defined as that distance equal to one minute (1/60 degrees) of latitude. About one nautical mile equals approximately 1.15078 statute miles or 1,852 meters.
Difference between Miles and Nautical Miles
Mile (mi) –
There are two miles, one in the imperial and United States customary measurement system and the other in the Metric system.
There are two main types of miles: The statute mile (on land) and the nautical mile (on sea).
5,280 feet, or 1,609.34 meters is equivalent to one statute mile,
Nautical Mile (nmi or NM) –
The unit of measurement credited in navigation and aviation is the nautical mile.
About one arcminute of the Earth’s surface is one nautical mile.
It is defined as being about 1,852 meters 1 nautical mile by the international standard.
Comparison of Mile and Nautical Mile
Feature | Mile (mi) | Nautical Mile (NM or nmi) |
---|---|---|
Measurement Length | 1 mile = 1,609.344 meters (5,280 feet) | 1 nautical mile = 1,852 meters (6,076.1 feet) |
Used In | Mainly land distances (U.S., UK, etc.) | Marine and air navigation worldwide |
Origin | Derived from the Roman mile (mille passus) | Derived from the Earth's curvature; 1 NM = 1 minute of latitude |
Applications | Road distances, maps, running, etc. | Sea and air navigation, global positioning |
Land miles to nautical miles conversion formula and example
The conversion factor: of 1 land mile is approximately 0.868976 nautical miles.
Nautical Miles=Land Miles×0.868976
Let's say you have a length of 10 Land Miles and want to convert it to Nautical Miles.
Nautical Miles=10Land Miles×0.868976. Nautical Miles =8.68976
Therefore, 10 land miles is approximately equal to 8.69 nautical miles.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Why aren’t regular miles used in navigation, instead of nautical miles?
Nautical miles rely on the Earth’s curvature, which is good for distances traveled when curvature matters. One nautical mile is exactly one minute of latitude, the same distance north or south as recorded on global navigation charts.
2. Are Nautical Miles used for modern navigation today?
The marine and aviation nautical navigation does use nautical miles. Climate control is used widely internationally, a unit that is the preferred unit for navigational distance.
3. Can you convert nautical miles to regular miles?
Yes, to convert nautical miles to miles, use the formula:
Miles=Nautical Miles×1.15078
4. Can nautical miles be accurate for navigation?
Nautic miles are very accurate for navigation because of their basis on geographic coordinates combined with the earth’s curvature. With their consistent and accurate distance calculations, they are perfect for long-distance calculations over either large bodies of water or air.
5. Why is 1,852 meters the equivalent of one nautical mile?
A nautical mile is defined as one minute of latitude, and is approximately 1,852 meters. Through agreement in their use as a standard of measurement, internationally, this value was agreed upon as a value of global navigation.
A Table for Miles (m) to Nautical Miles (NM ) Conversion
Miles (m) | Nautical Miles (NM) |
---|---|
1 miles | 0.868976 NM |
2 miles | 1.737952 NM |
3 miles | 2.606929 NM |
4 miles | 3.475905 NM |
5 miles | 4.344881 NM |
6 miles | 5.213857 NM |
7 miles | 6.082834 NM |
8 miles | 6.951810 NM |
9 miles | 7.820786 NM |
10 miles | 8.689762 NM |
20 miles | 17.379525 NM |
30 miles | 26.069287 NM |
40 miles | 34.759050 NM |
50 miles | 43.448812 NM |
60 miles | 52.138575 NM |
70 miles | 60.828337 NM |
80 miles | 69.518099 NM |
90 miles | 78.207862 NM |
100 miles | 86.897624 NM |
200 miles | 173.795248 NM |
300 miles | 260.692873 NM |
400 miles | 347.590497 NM |
500 miles | 434.488121 NM |
600 miles | 521.385745 NM |
700 miles | 608.283369 NM |
800 miles | 695.180994 NM |
900 miles | 782.078618 NM |
1,000 miles | 868.976242 NM |