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[Etymology: Lat: ‘small’] Symbol ′. Usually the first subdivisional unit of some more established unit, a term adopted in medieval times when the Babylonian sexagesimal scheme of division was common, hence rarely other than a sixtieth of the larger unit. Often represented by a single prime or hash mark, e.g. 3′ for 3 minutes of time, angle, etc.; its next layer of subdivision, being the second layer, is invariably into units called seconds, represented by double hash marks.

length ¹/₆₀ of 1 degree of a great circle of Earth, being 1 minute of longitude along the Equator and equivalent elsewhere, particularly meridionally, approximately 1.85 km or 1.11 mi (essentially the geographic mile and nautical mile). Also a minute of longitude along an identified parallel of latitude, which means a lesser and progressively declining length as latitude increases. Specific values include:

time. Symbol min in the SI. Traditionally ¹/₆₀ of an hour, thereby ¹/₁₄₄₀ of a day (a unit varying in size depending on qualifier) and sized by such fractioning. Since 1967, however, the minute of normal usage (derived from the mean solar day), routinely equalling 60 seconds, has been defined from the atomic second. (See leap second for exceptions to the number 60.)

plane angle (also arcmin, minute of arc) The first layer of fractioning the degree, the traditional measure of plane angle, by definition = ^1°/₆₀ = 0.016 667~°, = π/(60 × 180) rad = 0.000 290 89~ rad.

astronomy Note that minute for right ascension is the minute of the sidereal clock, while for declination and most other purposes it is the minute of plane angle; the two differ by a ratio of 1:15.

See also centesimal minute.

noun

A very brief time: crack, flash, instant, moment, second¹, trice, twinkle, twinkling, wink. Informal jiff, jiffy. Chiefly British tick. See big/small/amount, time.

adjective

1. Extremely small: diminutive, dwarf, Lilliputian, midget, miniature, minuscule, pygmy, tiny, wee. Informal peewee, pintsize, pintsized, teensy-weensy, teensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, weeny. See big/small/amount.
2. Characterized by attention to detail: blow-by-blow, circumstantial, detailed, full, particular, thorough. See specific/general.

Definition: exact, precise
Antonyms: cursory, imprecise, inexact, rough

adj

Definition: unimportant
Antonyms: consequential, considerable, important, significant, substantial, trivial

adj

Definition: very small
Antonyms: big, giant, gigantic, huge, large, mighty

One division of a module, 3.

1. Unit of time.

2. Unit of angular measurement equivalent to 1/60 of a degree.

To convert from minutes (angles) to:

degrees, multiply by .01667.
quadrants, multiply by 1.852E-04.
radians, multiply by 2.909E-04.
seconds, multiply by 60.

1. symbol: min; a non-SI unit of time equal to 60 seconds.
2. symbol: ′; a unit of plane angle equal to (Π/10 800) radians, or 0.291 milliradians. There are 60 seconds (of arc) in one minute (of arc), and 60 minutes in one degree (of arc).
3. (in genetics) an empirical unit of distance between genes in a bacterial chromosome, being a measure of the time taken, in minutes, for the transfer of a particular gene during bacterial conjugation relative to an arbitrarily standardized selected origin.

Very small.

• m. canine virus (MCV) — see canine parvovirus type 1.
• m. mouse virus — a parvovirus recovered from mice. Experimental infection of neonatal or fetal mice causes runting and cerebellar hypoplasia, but natural infection has not been associated with clinical disease. Sometimes referred to as the ‘mini-mouse’ virus.

• Small, short, or thin
• Maps and Cartography - minute: one-sixtieth of one degree of latitude or longitude
• Measures and Standards of Time - minute: basic unit of time equal to 60 seconds, or 160 of an hour
• U.S. System - minute: sixty seconds in angular measure; 1/60 of a degree
• rice
• Periods of Time - minute: sixty seconds; one sixtieth of an hour

A minute of arc, arcminute, or minute arc (MOA), is a unit of angular measurement equal to one sixtieth (¹⁄₆₀) of one degree (^circle⁄_21,600), or (^π⁄_10,800) radians. In turn, a second of arc or arcsecond is one sixtieth (¹⁄₆₀) of one minute of arc. Since one degree is defined as one three hundred and sixtieth (¹⁄₃₆₀) of a rotation, one minute of arc is ¹⁄_21,600 of a rotation. It is used in those fields which require a unit for the expression of small angles, such as astronomy, navigation and marksmanship.

The number of square arcminutes in a complete sphere is

or approximately 148,510,660.498 square arcminutes.

The arcsecond is ¹⁄_3,600 of a degree, or ¹⁄_1,296,000 of a circle, or (^π⁄_648,000) radians, which is approximately ¹⁄_206,265 radian.

To express even smaller angles, standard SI prefixes can be employed; in particular, the milliarcsecond, abbreviated mas, is used in astronomy.

Contents 1 Symbols and abbreviations 2 Uses 2.1 Firearms 2.2 Cartography 2.3 Property cadastral surveying 2.4 Astronomy 2.5 Human vision 2.6 Materials 3 References

Symbols and abbreviations

The standard symbol for marking the arcminute is the prime (′) (U+2032), though a single quote (') (U+0027) is commonly used where only ASCII characters are permitted. One arcminute is thus written 1′. It is also abbreviated as arcmin or amin or, less commonly, the prime with a circumflex over it ().

The standard symbol for the arcsecond is the double prime (″) (U+2033), though a double quote (") (U+0022) is commonly used where only ASCII characters are permitted. One arcsecond is thus written 1″. It is also abbreviated as arcsec or asec.

The sexagesimal system of angular measurement

Unit	Value	Symbol	Abbreviations	In radians (approx.)
Degree	1⁄360 circle	°	deg	17.4532925 mrad
Arcminute	1⁄60 degree	′ (prime)	arcmin, amin, am, , MOA	290.8882087 µrad
Arcsecond	1⁄60 arcminute	″ (double prime)	arcsec, asec, as	4.8481368 µrad
Milliarcsecond	1⁄1,000 arcsecond		mas	4.8481368 nrad
Microarcsecond	10−6 arcsecond		μas	4.8481368 prad

In celestial navigation, seconds of arc are rarely used in calculations, the preference usually being for degrees, minutes and decimals of a minute, written for example as 42° 25′.32 or 42° 25′.322.^[1][2] This notation has been carried over into marine GPS receivers, which normally display latitude and longitude in the latter format by default.^[3]

Uses

Firearms

The arcminute is commonly found in the firearms industry and literature, particularly concerning the accuracy of rifles, though the industry tends to refer to it as minute of angle. It is especially popular with shooters familiar with the Imperial measurement system because 1 MOA subtends approximately one inch at 100 yards, a traditional distance on target ranges. Since most modern rifle scopes are adjustable in half (¹⁄₂), quarter (¹⁄₄), or eighth (¹⁄₈) MOA increments, also known as clicks, this makes zeroing and adjustments much easier. For example, if the point of impact is 3" high and 1.5" left of the point of aim at 100 yards, the scope needs to be adjusted 3 MOA down, and 1.5 MOA right. Such adjustments are trivial when the scope's adjustment dials have an MOA scale printed on them, and even figuring the right number of clicks is relatively easy on scopes that click in fractions of MOA.

One thing to be aware of is that some scopes, including some higher-end models, are calibrated such that an adjustment of 1 MOA corresponds to exactly 1 inch, rather than 1.047". This is commonly known as the Shooter's MOA (SMOA) or Inches Per Hundred Yards (IPHY). While the difference between one true MOA and one SMOA is less than half of an inch even at 1000 yards,^[4] this error compounds significantly on longer range shots that may require adjustment upwards of 20-30 MOA to compensate for the bullet drop. If a shot requires an adjustment of 20 MOA or more, the difference between true MOA and SMOA will add up to 10 inches or more. In varmint hunting or competitive target shooting, this can easily mean the difference between a hit and a miss.

Calculating the physical equivalent group size equal to one minute of arc can be done using the equation: equivalent group size = tan(^MOA⁄₆₀) × distance. In the example previously given and substituting 3,600 inches for 100 yards, 3,600 tan(^{1 MOA}⁄₆₀) inches = 1.047 inches.

In metric units 1 MOA at 100 meters = 2.908 centimeters.

Sometimes, a precision firearm's accuracy will be measured in MOA. This simply means that under ideal conditions i.e. no wind, match-grade ammo, clean barrel, and a vise or a benchrest used to eliminate shooter error, the gun is capable of producing a group of shots whose center points (center-to-center) fit into a circle, the average diameter of circles in several groups can be subtended by that amount of arc. For example, a 1 MOA rifle should be capable, under ideal conditions, of shooting an average 1-inch groups at 100 yards. Most higher-end rifles are warrantied by their manufacturer to shoot under a given MOA threshold (typically 1 MOA or better) with specific ammunition and no error on the shooter's part. For example, Remington's M24 Sniper Weapon System is required to shoot 0.8 MOA or better, or be rejected.

Rifle manufacturers and gun magazines often refer to this capability as sub-MOA, meaning it shoots under 1 MOA. This is means that a single group of 3 to 5 shots at 100 yards, or the average of several groups, will measure less than 1 MOA between the two furthest shots in the group, i.e. all shots fall within 1 MOA. If larger samples are taken (i.e., more shots per group) then group size typically increases, however this will ultimately average out. If a rifle was truly a 1 MOA rifle, it would be just as likely that two consecutive shots land exactly on top of each other as that they land 1 MOA apart. For 5 shot groups, based on 95% confidence a rifle that normally shoots 1 MOA can be expected to shoot groups between 0.58 MOA and 1.47 MOA, although the majority of these groups will be under 1 MOA. What this means in practice is if a rifle that shoots 1" groups on average at 100 yards shoots a group measuring .7" followed by a group that is 1.3" this is not statistically abnormal.^[5][6]

Cartography

Minutes of angle (and its subunit, seconds of angle or SOA—equal to a sixtieth of a MOA) are also used in cartography and navigation. At sea level, one minute of angle (around the equator or a meridian) equals about 1.86 kilometres / 1.16 miles), approximately one nautical mile (approximately, because the Earth is slightly oblate); a second of angle is one sixtieth of this amount: about 30 meters or 100 feet.

Traditionally positions are given using degrees, minutes, and seconds of angles in two measurements: one for latitude, the angle north or south of the equator; and one for longitude, the angle east or west of the Prime Meridian. Using this method, any position on or above the Earth's reference ellipsoid can be precisely given. However, because of the somewhat clumsy base-60 nature of MOA and SOA, many people now prefer to give positions using degrees only, expressed in decimal form to an equal amount of precision. Degrees, given to three decimal places (¹⁄_1,000 of a degree), have about ¹⁄₄ the precision as degrees-minutes-seconds (¹⁄_3,600 of a degree), and so identify locations within about 120 meters or 400 feet.

Property cadastral surveying

Related to cartography, property boundary surveying using the metes and bounds system relies on fractions of a degree to describe property lines' angles in reference to cardinal directions. A boundary "mete" is described with a beginning reference point, the cardinal direction North or South followed by an angle less than 90 degrees and a second cardinal direction, and a linear distance. The boundary runs the specified linear distance from the beginning point, the direction of the distance being determined by rotating the first cardinal direction the specified angle toward the second cardinal direction. For example, North 65° 39′ 18″ West 85.69 feet would describe a line running from the starting point 85.69 feet in a direction 65° 39′ 18″ (or 65.655°) away from north toward the west.

Astronomy

Comparison of angular diameter of the Sun, Moon, planets and the International Space Station. To get a true representation of the sizes, view the image at a distance of 103 times the width of the "Moon: max." circle. For example, if this circle is 10 cm wide on your monitor, view it from 10.3 m away.

The arcminute and arcsecond are also used in astronomy. Degrees (and therefore arcminutes) are used to measure declination, or angular distance north or south of the celestial equator. The arcsecond is also often used to describe parallax, due to very small parallax angles for stellar parallax, and tiny angular diameters (e.g., Venus varies between 10′′ and 60′′). The parallax, proper motion and angular diameter of a star may also be written in milliarcseconds (mas), or thousandths of an arcsecond. The parsec gets its name from "parallax second", for those arcseconds.

The ESA astrometric space probe Gaia will measure star positions to 20 microarcseconds (µas). There are about 1.3 quadrillion µas in a circle. As seen from Earth, one µas is about the size of a period at the end of a sentence in the Apollo mission manuals left on the moon.

Apart from the Sun, the star with the largest angular diameter from Earth is R Doradus, a red supergiant with a diameter of 0.05 arcsecond.^[7] Because of the effects of atmospheric seeing, ground-based telescopes will smear the image of a star to an angular diameter of about 0.5 arcsecond; in poor seeing conditions this increases to 1.5 arcseconds or even more. The dwarf planet Pluto has proven difficult to resolve because its angular diameter is about 0.1 arcsecond.^[8] This is roughly equivalent to a (40 mm) ping-pong ball viewed at a distance of 50 miles (80 km).

Space telescopes are not affected by the Earth's atmosphere but are diffraction limited. For example, the Hubble space telescope can reach an angular size of stars down to about 0.1″. Techniques exist for improving seeing on the ground. Adaptive optics, for example, can produce images around 0.05 arcsecond on a 10 m class telescope.

Human vision

In humans, 20/20 vision is the ability to resolve a spatial pattern separated by a visual angle of one minute of arc. A 20/20 letter subtends 5 minutes of arc total.

For raster graphics, Apple Inc asserts that a display of approximately 300 ppi at a distance of 12 inches (305 mm) from one's eye, or 57 arcseconds per pixel^[9] is the maximum amount of detail that the human retina can perceive.^[10] Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate Technologies, however, stated that the resolution of the human retina is higher than claimed by Apple, working out to 477 ppi at 12 inches (305 mm) or 36 arcseconds per pixel.^[11]

Materials

The deviation from parallelism between two surfaces, for instance in optical engineering, is usually measured in arcminutes or arcsecond.

References

1. ^ "CELESTIAL NAVIGATION COURSE". International Navigation School. http://www.learntonavigate.com/celestial.htm. Retrieved 4 November 2010. "It is a straight forward method [to obtain a position at sea] and requires no mathematical calculation beyond addition and subtraction of degrees and minutes and decimals of minutes" 
2. ^ "Astro Navigation Syllabus". http://www.kumquat-data.com/Astro%20Navigation%20Syllabus.htm. Retrieved 4 November 2010. "[Sextant errors] are sometimes [given] in seconds of arc, which will need to be converted to decimal minutes when you include them in your calculation." 
3. ^ "Shipmate GN30". Norinco. http://norinco.co.in/NCMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=81. Retrieved 4 November 2010. 
4. ^ http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/6227/mil-moa-or-inches/
5. ^ Wheeler, Robert E.. "Statistical notes on rifle group patterns". http://www.bobwheeler.com/guns/GroupStat.pdf. Retrieved 21 May 2009. 
6. ^ Bramwell, Denton (January 2009). "Group Therapy The Problem: How accurate is your rifle?". Varmint Hunter 69. http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/accurate-rifle-groups-1.php. Retrieved 21 May 2009. 
7. ^ Some studies have shown a larger angular diameter for Betelgeuse. Various studies have produced figures of between 0.042 and 0.069 arcseconds for the star's diameter. The variability of Betelgeuse and difficulties in producing a precise reading for its angular diameter make any definitive figure conjectural.
8. ^ NASA.gov Pluto Fact Sheet
9. ^
10. ^ Brandrick, Chris (June 8, 2010 (2010-06-08)). "iPhone 4's Retina Display Explained". PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/198201/iphone_4s_retina_display_explained.html. Retrieved June 18, 2010 (2010-06-18). 
11. ^ Hachman, Mark (June 9, 2010 (2010-06-09)). "Analyst Challenges Apple's iPhone 4 'Retina Display' Claims". PC Magazine. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364871,00.asp. Retrieved June 23, 2010 (2010-06-23). 

v t e SI units Base units Ampere · Candela · Kelvin · Kilogram · Metre · Mole · Second Derived units Becquerel · Coulomb · Degree Celsius · Farad · Gray · Henry · Hertz · Joule · Katal · Lumen · Lux · Newton · Ohm · Pascal · Radian · Siemens · Sievert · Steradian · Tesla · Volt · Watt · Weber Accepted for use with SI Dalton (Atomic mass unit) · Astronomical unit · Day · Decibel · Degree Celsius · Degree of arc · Electronvolt · Hectare · Hour · Litre · Minute · Minute of arc · Neper · Second of arc · Tonne Atomic units · Natural units See also SI prefixes · Systems of measurement · Conversion of units · New SI definitions · History of the metric system Book:International System of Units  · Category:SI base units

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - minut

idioms:

• at any minute    hvert minut
• just a minute    blot et minut
• last minute    sidste minut
• minute hand    minutviser
• the next minute    næste minut
• up to the minute    med på det sidste nye
• Wait a minute    lige et øjeblik, vent lidt!

2.
adj. - meget lille, ubetydelig

3.
n. - referat, notat, protokol
v. tr. - referere, protokollere

idioms:

• draw up the minutes    udarbejde referat
• take minutes    tage referat, føre protokol

Nederlands (Dutch)
minuut, minutieus, aantekening, nota, piepklein, notuleren, noteren

Français (French)
1.
n. - minute, instant, (Géog, Math) minute

idioms:

• any minute    d'une minute à l'autre
• at the minute    à la minute
• by the minute    à la minute
• just a minute    une minute
• last minute    dernière minute
• minute hand    aiguille des minutes
• not for a minute    pas pour un seul instant
• the minute    pile (à heure)
• the next minute    l'instant d'après
• this minute    immédiatement, à l'instant
• up to the minute    à la minute près, à la dernière (mode)
• Wait a minute    un instant, attendez une minute/un instant/un moment, minute (excl) (d'indignation)

2.
adj. - minuscule, infime, minime

3.
n. - (Jur) minutes, procès-verbal, (Admin) compte-rendu
v. tr. - inscrire au procès-verbal

idioms:

• draw up the minutes    rédiger le compte-rendu
• take minutes    rédiger le compte-rendu

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Minute, Moment

idioms:

• any minute    im kurzen
• at the minute    momentan, im Moment
• by the minute    auf die Minute
• just a minute    einen Augenblick!
• last minute    letzte Minute
• minute hand    Minutenzeiger
• not for a minute    keinesfalls
• the minute    der Augenblick
• the next minute    gleich darauf
• this minute    jetzt!, sofort!
• up to the minute    hochaktuell
• Wait a minute    einen Augenblick!

2.
adj. - minuziös, winzig, unbedeutend

3.
n. - Notiz, Protokoll
v. - protokollieren

idioms:

• draw up the minutes    Protokoll führen
• take minutes    protokollieren

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - λεπτό (της ώρας ή της μοίρας), (χρονική) στιγμή, (πληθ.) πεπραγμένα, πρακτικά (συνεδρίασης κ.λπ.)
v. - προσδιορίζω χρονικά, χρονομετρώ, τηρώ/κρατώ πρακτικά, κοινοποιώ πρακτικά
adj. - μικροσκοπικός, λεπτομερειακός, λεπτομερής

idioms:

• at any minute    από λεπτό σε λεπτό
• draw up the minutes    κρατώ πρακτικά
• just a minute    (για στάσου) μια στιγμή!
• last minute    της τελευταίας στιγμής
• minute hand    λεπτοδείκτης ρολογιού
• take minutes    κρατώ πρακτικά
• the next minute    την επόμενη στιγμή
• up to the minute    της τελευταίας ώρας
• Wait a minute    Για μια στιγμή

Italiano (Italian)
appunti, minuto, momento

idioms:

• at any minute    fra poco
• draw up the minutes    tenere i verbali
• just a minute    un momento
• last minute    ultimo momento
• minute hand    lancetta dei minuti
• take minutes    prendere nota
• the next minute    subito dopo
• Wait a minute!    aspetta un momento!

Português (Portuguese)
n. - minuto (m)
v. - cronometrar, lavrar ata
adj. - miúdo, insignificante

idioms:

• at any minute    a qualquer momento
• draw up the minutes    parar um pouco
• just a minute    só um minuto
• last minute    no último instante
• minute hand    ponteiro de minutos (m)
• take minutes    redigir minuta (de reunião)
• the next minute    no minuto seguinte
• up to the minute    de última hora
• Wait a minute!    Aguarde um minuto!

Русский (Russian)
минута, короткий промежуток времени, короткая запись, протокол, хронометрировать, вести протокол, мелкий, подробный, незначительный

idioms:

• at any minute    с минуты на минуты
• draw up the minutes    вести протокол
• just a minute    секундочку!
• last minute    последний момент
• minute hand    минутная стрелка
• take minutes    длиться
• the next minute    следующий момент
• up to the minute    последний (о новостях, информации и пр.)
• Wait a minute!    Обождите минутку!

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - minuto, momento, instante

idioms:

• any minute    de un momento a otro, en cualquier momento, en cualquier instante
• at the minute    en el momento
• by the minute    por minuto
• just a minute    ¡un momento!
• last minute    a última hora
• minute hand    minutero
• not for a minute    ni por un momento
• the minute    en el momento que, en el instante que
• the next minute    al instante, inmediatamente después, muy pronto, luego, inmediatamente
• this minute    este momento, este instante
• up to the minute    muy actualizado
• Wait a minute    espera un momento, ¡un momento!, ¡momentito!, espera un minuto!

2.
adj. - diminuto, muy pequeño, menudo, minucioso

3.
n. - actas, minuta
v. tr. - cronometrar, minutar, anotar, poner en el acta

idioms:

• draw up the minutes    preparar o redactar las actas
• take minutes    llevar actas

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - minut, anteckning
v. - ta tid på, notera
adj. - minimal, hårfin, minutiös

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 分, 一会儿, 片刻, 备忘录, 将...记录下来, 将...记入会议记录

idioms:

• at any minute    在任何时候, 随时
• draw up the minutes    记下会议记录
• just a minute    请等一会儿, 请稍待片刻
• last minute    最后一刻, 紧急关头
• minute hand    分针
• take minutes    作记录
• the next minute    下一刻
• up to the minute    最新
• Wait a minute    等一下

2. 微小的, 详细的, 琐细的, 精密的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 分, 一會兒, 片刻, 備忘錄
v. tr. - 將...記錄下來, 將...記入會議記錄

idioms:

• at any minute    在任何時候, 隨時
• draw up the minutes    記下會議記錄
• just a minute    請等一會兒, 請稍待片刻
• last minute    最後一刻, 緊急關頭
• minute hand    分針
• take minutes    作記錄
• the next minute    下一刻
• up to the minute    最新
• Wait a minute    等一下

2.
adj. - 微小的, 詳細的, 瑣細的, 精密的

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 60초, 순간

idioms:

• at any minute    지금 당장이라도
• the next minute    다음에
• up to the minute    유행에 맞는

2.
adj. - 매우 작은

3.
v. tr. - 회의록에 기록하다

idioms:

• draw up the minutes    회의록을 작성하다
• take minutes    회의록에 기록하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 分, 一瞬, 覚書, 控え, 議事録, ちょっとの間, 草稿, 覚え書き
adj. - 急ごしらえの, 微小な, 微細な, 詳細な, 綿密な, 取るに足らない
v. - 書き留める, 草案を作成する

idioms:

• at any minute    今すぐにでも
• minute hand    分針
• take minutes    時間をかける
• up to the minute    最新の

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دقيقه, دقيق, وقائع, جلسات (فعل) يدون كوقائع (صفه) صغير جدا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דקה‬
adj. - ‮זעיר, מדוקדק, מפורט‬
n. - ‮תקציר דיון, זיכרון-דברים, פרוטוקול‬
v. tr. - ‮רשם או ערך זכרון-דברים‬

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