Degrees to Arcminutes (° to ′)

1 degree equals 60 arcminutes exactly.

How to convert degrees to arcminutes

To convert degrees to arcminutes, multiply the number of degrees by 60. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply arcminutes by 0.01666666667 (rounded).

arcminutes = degrees × 60

Example: 10 degrees = 600 arcminutes.

About these units

Degree (°)

General & non-SICurrent unit

One 360th of a full turn. The everyday unit of angle, inherited from the ancient Babylonians' base-60 counting.

Dividing the circle into 360 parts traces back to the astronomers of ancient Babylon, who counted in base 60. Why 360 in particular is still debated. One explanation points to Persian and Babylonian calendars, which used a year of about 360 days, so the Sun seemed to advance roughly one degree each day. Another says the Babylonians started from the angle of an equilateral triangle and split it into 60 pieces, and a third credits early chord-based trigonometry, where a chord equal to the radius made a natural base. Greek astronomers such as Aristarchus and Hipparchus were among the first to use Babylonian astronomical knowledge systematically.

The number also divides well. 360 has 24 divisors and splits evenly by every whole number from 1 to 10 except 7, which suits a world cut into 24 time zones of 15 degrees of longitude each. Each degree breaks into 60 arcminutes, and each of those into 60 arcseconds. The SI Brochure lists the degree among the widely used non-SI units, equal to π/180 radian, about 0.01745. For scale, the Moon and the Sun each look about half a degree wide, and a little finger held at arm's length covers roughly one degree of sky.

1 degree = 0.002777777778 turns (approximately).

Sources: BIPM SI Brochure, 9th edition (2019); Wikipedia: Degree (angle); Wikipedia: Angular diameter

Arcminute (′)

General & non-SICurrent unit

One sixtieth of a degree. Used in navigation, astronomy and rifle sighting (minute of angle).

An arcminute is a sixtieth of a degree, which makes it 1/21,600 of a turn or about 0.29 milliradian. The SI Brochure lists it among widely used non-SI units, equal to π/10,800 radian. The units come from Babylonian astronomy and its habit of splitting the degree into 60 parts.

It is a handy size for everyday precision. One arcminute of latitude is roughly one nautical mile, and navigation often writes positions in degrees and decimal minutes. Someone with 20/20 vision can just resolve details about an arcminute apart. The Sun and the Moon each measure around 30 to 32 arcminutes across. Property surveyors use degrees, minutes, and seconds in metes-and-bounds boundary descriptions. Shooters call the unit minute of angle, or MOA, where 1 MOA covers about 1.047 inches at 100 yards.

1 arcminute = 0.0000462962963 turns (approximately).

Sources: BIPM SI Brochure, 9th edition (2019); Wikipedia: Minute and second of arc; Wikipedia: Angular diameter

Related conversions

See all angle units.