Earth section paths

Have you ever looked at a globe and noticed that it has lines on it that are called "latitude" and "longitude"? These lines help us find places on Earth.

Now imagine a slice of an orange. We can see that it has a round shape and if we were to cut it again, we would have another smaller, round slice. Just like oranges, the Earth can be sliced into sections, or paths, too!

These paths are called "great circles." A great circle is the path that would be made if you took a big circle through the Earth, splitting it into two equal halves. This circle would be very big, because the Earth is very big!

Airplanes actually use these great circle paths to fly from one place to another. They don't just fly straight across the map, but instead follow the Earth's curved surface, which is the shortest distance between two points on Earth.

So next time you look at a globe, remember that the lines on it can show you where you are on Earth, and that there are also big circles that slice through it called great circles that airplanes can use to travel more efficiently.