Minute, a unit for measuring both time and space. As a unit of time, a minute is 60 seconds, or 1/60 of an hour. As a unit of space, a minute (often called a minute of arc) is 1/60 of a degree. (A degree is 1/360 of the circumference of a circle.) A minute of arc contains 60 seconds of arc.
The duration of a minute as a unit of time is constant. The length of a minute of arc varies with the size of the circle. The length can be computed if the circumference or radius of the circle is known.
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Minutes of arc are used in geography in designating locations on the earth's surface. A particular place is said to be a certain number of degrees (), minutes ('), and seconds () east or west of Greenwich, England, and north or south of the Equator.
