How does your phone know where it is? By measuring its distance to several satellites and finding the one point consistent with all of them.
GPS TrilaterationLive
position from distances
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A GPS receiver knows its distance to several satellites from signal travel time. Each distance places it on a circle (a sphere in 3D); where three circles intersect is the fix. With perfect ranges they meet at one point, but timing noise blurs the intersection into a small region — which is why GPS uses many satellites and least-squares to pin down position.
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How it works
Each satellite's signal travel time gives the receiver's distance to it, placing the receiver on a circle — a sphere in three dimensions. Intersecting three or more of these ranges pinpoints the location. With perfect measurements they meet at a point, but clock and atmospheric noise blur the intersection, which is why GPS uses many satellites and least-squares fitting.
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