A system of curvilinear coordinates (co-ordinate system composed of intersecting surfaces) in which the position of a point in space is designated by its distance from the origin or pole, called the radius vector, the angle φ between the radius vector and a vertically directed polar axis, called the cone angle or co-latitude, and the angle θ between the plane of φ and a fixed meridian plane through the polar axis, called the polar angle or longitude: The spherical coordinates are a set of coordinates used for locating a point in space, representing its distance from an origin and two angles describing its orientation relative to perpendicular axes extending from that origin.

Geographical coordinates refer to a system of coordinates for locating a point in space by the length of its radius vector and the angles this vector makes with two perpendicular polar planes.