Destination Point Calculator

Destination Point Calculator

Given a starting location, a compass bearing, and a travel distance, this calculator finds exactly where you'll end up - the inverse of calculating distance and bearing between two known points.

Formula (Great-Circle Destination)

lat2 = asin(sin(lat1) × cos(d/R) + cos(lat1) × sin(d/R) × cos(bearing))
lon2 = lon1 + atan2(sin(bearing) × sin(d/R) × cos(lat1), cos(d/R) - sin(lat1) × sin(lat2))

Example

Starting at New York City (40.7128, -74.0060), heading due east (90┬░) for 100 km:

Destination ≈ (40.7067, -72.8196)

Standard Navigation Math

This is the exact calculation used in maritime and aviation dead reckoning - navigators historically computed this by hand (or with slide rules and tables) to plot a position after traveling a known heading and distance without GPS. The calculation treats Earth as a sphere with a radius of 6,371 km, a good approximation for most practical purposes, though it introduces small errors compared to Earth's true ellipsoidal shape over very long distances or near the poles.