# Incorrect distance using geo point calculation, off by a lot **URL:** \ **Category:** Elasticsearch\ **Created:** [March 22, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/incorrect-distance-using-geo-point-calculation-off-by-a-lot/11253 "2013-03-22T02:25:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bruno\_Miranda](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/bruno_miranda/32/746_2.png) [@Bruno\_Miranda](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Bruno_Miranda)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/incorrect-distance-using-geo-point-calculation-off-by-a-lot/11253/1 "2013-03-22T02:25:15Z")
Using 0.20.5, I am trying to calculate the distance between 2 geo points as such: [http://0.0.0.0:9200/development\_facilities/facility/\_search?load=false&size=10&pretty](http://0.0.0.0:9200/development_facilities/facility/_search?load=false&size=10&pretty) ' { "fields" : ["\_source"], "script\_fields" : { "distance" : { "script" : "doc['lat\_lon'].distance(32.81,-117.21)" } } } ' And here's the result: { "took": 2, "timed\_out": false, "\_shards": { "total": 1, "successful": 1, "failed": 0 }, "hits": { "total": 1, "max\_score": 1, "hits": [ { "\_index": "development\_facilities", "\_type": "facility", "\_id": "663", "\_score": 1, "\_source": { "id": 663, "name": "Rady Children's Hospital & Health Center ", "zip": "92123", "beds": 292, "full\_address": "3020 Children's Way, San Diego, CA, 92123", "short\_name": "Rady Children's Hosp & Hlth Ctr", "state": "CA", "city": "San Diego", "type\_code": null, "lat\_lon": [ 32.798, -117.151 ] }, "fields": { "distance": 6934.980565249466 } } ] } } As you can see the lat/lon is pretty should, should only be a few miles away, yet the calculated distance field should 6934.98, can someone spot what I am doing wrong? Thank you -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Bruno\_Miranda](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/bruno_miranda/32/746_2.png) [@Bruno\_Miranda](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Bruno_Miranda)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/incorrect-distance-using-geo-point-calculation-off-by-a-lot/11253/2 "2013-03-22T02:42:32Z")
A few updates, if I change to arcDistance: { "fields" : ["\_source"], "script\_fields" : { "distance" : { "script" : "doc['lat\_lon'].arcDistance(-117.151, 32.898)" } } } And reverse the order of the lat, lon inside the arcDistance() call, it works: "fields": { "distance": 3.15 } Reversing the order of the lat/lon and using distance() or distanceInKm() however _still does not work_ On Thursday, March 21, 2013 7:25:15 PM UTC-7, Bruno Miranda wrote: > Using 0.20.5, I am trying to calculate the distance between 2 geo points > as such: > > http:// > 0.0.0.0:9200/development\_facilities/facility/\_search?load=false&size=10&pretty' > > { > "fields" : ["\_source"], > "script\_fields" : { > "distance" : { > "script" : "doc['lat\_lon'].distance(32.81,-117.21)" > } > } > } > ' > > And here's the result: > > { > "took": 2, > "timed\_out": false, > "\_shards": { > "total": 1, > "successful": 1, > "failed": 0 > }, > "hits": { > "total": 1, > "max\_score": 1, > "hits": [ > { > "\_index": "development\_facilities", > "\_type": "facility", > "\_id": "663", > "\_score": 1, > "\_source": { > "id": 663, > "name": "Rady Children's Hospital & Health Center ", > "zip": "92123", > "beds": 292, > "full\_address": "3020 Children's Way, San Diego, CA, > 92123", > "short\_name": "Rady Children's Hosp & Hlth Ctr", > "state": "CA", > "city": "San Diego", > "type\_code": null, > "lat\_lon": [ > 32.798, > -117.151 > ] > }, > "fields": { > "distance": 6934.980565249466 > } > } > ] > } > } > > As you can see the lat/lon is pretty should, should only be a few miles > away, yet the calculated distance field should 6934.98, can someone spot > what I am doing wrong? > > Thank you -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![spinscale](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/user_avatar/discuss.elastic.co/spinscale/32/25011_2.png) [@spinscale](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/spinscale)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 8:17am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/incorrect-distance-using-geo-point-calculation-off-by-a-lot/11253/3 "2013-03-22T08:17:58Z")
Hey Bruno, this is strange. I just tested with elasticsearch 0.90 (which includes a couple of improvements in geo stuff) and 0.20.5, and it looks ok. curl -X PUT localhost:9200/geotest curl -X PUT localhost:9200/geotest/geotest/\_mapping -d '{"geotest": { "properties": { "location" : { "type":"geo\_point" } } }}' curl -X PUT localhost:9200/geotest/geotest/1 -d '{ "location":" 32.798, -117.151 " }' curl -X POST localhost:9200/geotest/geotest/\_search -d '{ "query": { "match\_all" : {} }, "script\_fields" : { "distance" : { "script": "doc["location"].distance(32.81,-117.21)" } } }' {"took":2,"timed\_out":false,"\_shards":{"total":5,"successful":5,"failed":0},"hits":{"total":1,"max\_score":1.0,"hits":[{"\_index":"geotest","\_type":"geotest","\_id":"1","\_score":1.0,"fields":{"distance":4.164719280569508}}]}} Maybe I changed coordinates somewhere while trying to copy and paste. Can you provide some gists reproduce? --Alex On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 3:42 AM, Bruno Miranda [bru.miranda@gmail.com](mailto:bru.miranda@gmail.com)wrote: > A few updates, if I change to arcDistance: > > { > "fields" : ["\_source"], > "script\_fields" : { > "distance" : { > > ``` > "script" : "doc['lat_lon'].arcDistance(-117.151, 32.898)" > } > > ``` > > } > } > > And reverse the order of the lat, lon inside the arcDistance() call, it > works: > > "fields": { > "distance": 3.15 > } > > Reversing the order of the lat/lon and using distance() or distanceInKm() > however _still does not work_ > > On Thursday, March 21, 2013 7:25:15 PM UTC-7, Bruno Miranda wrote: > > > Using 0.20.5, I am trying to calculate the distance between 2 geo points > > as such: > > > > [http://0.0.0.0:9200/\*\*development\_facilities/](http://0.0.0.0:9200/**development_facilities/)\*\* > > facility/\_search?load=false&\*\*size=10&pretty[http://0.0.0.0:9200/development\_facilities/facility/\_search?load=false&size=10&pretty](http://0.0.0.0:9200/development_facilities/facility/_search?load=false&size=10&pretty)' > > > > { > > "fields" : ["\_source"], > > "script\_fields" : { > > "distance" : { > > "script" : "doc['lat\_lon'].distance(32.\*\*81,-117.21)" > > } > > } > > } > > ' > > > > And here's the result: > > > > { > > "took": 2, > > "timed\_out": false, > > "\_shards": { > > "total": 1, > > "successful": 1, > > "failed": 0 > > }, > > "hits": { > > "total": 1, > > "max\_score": 1, > > "hits": [ > > { > > "\_index": "development\_facilities", > > "\_type": "facility", > > "\_id": "663", > > "\_score": 1, > > "\_source": { > > "id": 663, > > "name": "Rady Children's Hospital & Health Center ", > > "zip": "92123", > > "beds": 292, > > "full\_address": "3020 Children's Way, San Diego, CA, > > 92123", > > "short\_name": "Rady Children's Hosp & Hlth Ctr", > > "state": "CA", > > "city": "San Diego", > > "type\_code": null, > > "lat\_lon": [ > > 32.798, > > -117.151 > > ] > > }, > > "fields": { > > "distance": 6934.980565249466 > > } > > } > > ] > > } > > } > > > > As you can see the lat/lon is pretty should, should only be a few miles > > away, yet the calculated distance field should 6934.98, can someone spot > > what I am doing wrong? > > > > Thank you > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "elasticsearch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![Clinton\_Gormley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Clinton\_Gormley](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/Clinton_Gormley)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 10:28am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/incorrect-distance-using-geo-point-calculation-off-by-a-lot/11253/4 "2013-03-22T10:28:37Z")
The problem here is that you are using an array to specify a geopoint, and the format was changed to conform with the GeoJSON spec, as mentioned on [Elastic — The Search AI Company | Elastic](http://www.elasticsearch.org/guide/reference/mapping/geo-point-type.html). Instead of being [lat,lon], it's actually [lon,lat]. That issue is compounded by the fact that longitudes are normalized into the range -90 .. 90 so when you use -117 has a longitude it actually becomes 63 If you swap the values around, then it works correctly: curl -XPUT '[http://127.0.0.1:9200/test/?pretty=1](http://127.0.0.1:9200/test/?pretty=1)' -d ' { "mappings" : { "test" : { "properties" : { "lat\_lon" : { "type" : "geo\_point" } } } } } ' curl -XPOST '[http://127.0.0.1:9200/test/test?pretty=1](http://127.0.0.1:9200/test/test?pretty=1)' -d ' { "short\_name" : "Rady Children\u0027s Hosp & Hlth Ctr", "name" : "Rady Children\u0027s Hospital & Health Center ", "state" : "CA", "zip" : "92123", "full\_address" : "3020 Children\u0027s Way, San Diego, CA, 92123", "city" : "San Diego", "beds" : 292, "lat\_lon" : [ -117.151, 32.798 ], "type\_code" : "null", "id" : 663 } ' curl -XGET '[http://127.0.0.1:9200/test/test/\_search?pretty=1](http://127.0.0.1:9200/test/test/_search?pretty=1)' -d ' { "fields" : "\_source", "script\_fields" : { "distance" : { "script" : "doc[\u0027lat\_lon\u0027].distance(32.81,-117.21)" } } } ' # { # "hits" : { # "hits" : [ # { # "\_source" : { # "short\_name" : "Rady Children's Hosp & Hlth Ctr", # "name" : "Rady Children's Hospital & Health Center # \> ", # "state" : "CA", # "zip" : "92123", # "full\_address" : "3020 Children's Way, San Diego, # \> CA, 92123", # "city" : "San Diego", # "beds" : 292, # "id" : 663, # "lat\_lon" : [ # -117.151, # 32.798 # ], # "type\_code" : "null" # }, # "\_score" : 1, # "fields" : { # "distance" : 4.16462911860311 # }, # "\_index" : "test", # "\_id" : "KZL8CQXZQ6aKKEDUrjv5Ag", # "\_type" : "test" # } # ], # "max\_score" : 1, # "total" : 1 # }, # "timed\_out" : false, # "\_shards" : { # "failed" : 0, # "successful" : 5, # "total" : 5 # }, # "took" : 5 # } DB\<19\> On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 3:25 AM, Bruno Miranda [bru.miranda@gmail.com](mailto:bru.miranda@gmail.com)wrote: > Using 0.20.5, I am trying to calculate the distance between 2 geo points > as such: > > http:// > 0.0.0.0:9200/development\_facilities/facility/\_search?load=false&size=10&pretty' > > { > "fields" : ["\_source"], > "script\_fields" : { > "distance" : { > "script" : "doc['lat\_lon'].distance(32.81,-117.21)" > } > } > } > ' > > And here's the result: > > { > "took": 2, > "timed\_out": false, > "\_shards": { > "total": 1, > "successful": 1, > "failed": 0 > }, > "hits": { > "total": 1, > "max\_score": 1, > "hits": [ > { > "\_index": "development\_facilities", > "\_type": "facility", > "\_id": "663", > "\_score": 1, > "\_source": { > "id": 663, > "name": "Rady Children's Hospital & Health Center ", > "zip": "92123", > "beds": 292, > "full\_address": "3020 Children's Way, San Diego, CA, > 92123", > "short\_name": "Rady Children's Hosp & Hlth Ctr", > "state": "CA", > "city": "San Diego", > "type\_code": null, > "lat\_lon": [ > 32.798, > -117.151 > ] > }, > "fields": { > "distance": 6934.980565249466 > } > } > ] > } > } > > As you can see the lat/lon is pretty should, should only be a few miles > away, yet the calculated distance field should 6934.98, can someone spot > what I am doing wrong? > > Thank you > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "elasticsearch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). > For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "elasticsearch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com](mailto:elasticsearch+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com). For more options, visit [https://groups.google.com/groups/opt\_out](https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out). ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/elastic/original/3X/1/a/1ac57faf039f6b580b3f104ef42a2a89e41014de.png) [@system](https://discuss.elastic.co/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2017, 2:45am UTC](https://discuss.elastic.co/t/incorrect-distance-using-geo-point-calculation-off-by-a-lot/11253/5 "2017-07-06T02:45:08Z")