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Geospatial Query Operators

$nearSphere

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  • Definition
  • Behavior
  • Examples

Definition

$nearSphere

Specifies a point for which a geospatial query returns the documents from nearest to farthest. MongoDB calculates distances for $nearSphere using spherical geometry.

$nearSphere requires a geospatial index:

  • 2dsphere index for location data defined as GeoJSON points.

  • 2d index for location data defined as legacy coordinate pairs. To use a 2d index on GeoJSON points, create the index on the coordinates field of the GeoJSON object.

The $nearSphere operator can specify either a GeoJSON point or legacy coordinate point.

To specify a GeoJSON Point, use the following syntax:

{
  $nearSphere: {
     $geometry: {
        type : "Point",
        coordinates : [ <longitude>, <latitude> ]
     },
     $minDistance: <distance in meters>,
     $maxDistance: <distance in meters>
  }
}

  • The optional $minDistance limits the results to those documents that are at least the specified distance from the center point.

  • The optional $maxDistance is available for either index.

To specify a point using legacy coordinates, use the following syntax:

{
  $nearSphere: [ <x>, <y> ],
  $minDistance: <distance in radians>,
  $maxDistance: <distance in radians>
}

  • The optional $minDistance is available only if the query uses the 2dsphere index. $minDistance limits the results to those documents that are at least the specified distance from the center point.

  • The optional $maxDistance is available for either index.

If you use longitude and latitude for legacy coordinates, specify the longitude first, then latitude.

Tip

See also:

2d Indexes and Geospatial Near Queries

Behavior

Special Indexes Restriction

You cannot combine the $nearSphere operator, which requires a special geospatial index, with a query operator or command that requires another special index. For example you cannot combine $nearSphere with the $text query.

Sharded Collections

Starting in MongoDB 4.0, $nearSphere queries are supported for sharded collections.

In earlier MongoDB versions, $nearSphere queries are not supported for sharded collections; instead, for sharded clusters, you must use the $geoNear aggregation stage or the geoNear command (available in MongoDB 4.0 and earlier).

Sort Operation

The $nearSphere operator sorts documents by distance.

  • If you use the sort() method in your query, MongoDB performs a second sort operation, re-ordering the matching documents. When querying large collections, this can negatively affect query performance.

  • If the order of the documents is not important to you, consider using the $geoWithin operator instead, as it returns unsorted results.

  • $nearSphere is a Match Execution operator and is not permitted in aggregation pipelines.

Examples

Specify Center Point Using GeoJSON

Consider a collection places that contains documents with a location field and has a 2dsphere index.

Then, the following example returns whose location is at least 1000 meters from and at most 5000 meters from the specified point, ordered from nearest to farthest:

db.places.find(
   {
     location: {
        $nearSphere: {
           $geometry: {
              type : "Point",
              coordinates : [ -73.9667, 40.78 ]
           },
           $minDistance: 1000,
           $maxDistance: 5000
        }
     }
   }
)

Specify Center Point Using Legacy Coordinates

2d Index

Consider a collection legacyPlaces that contains documents with legacy coordinates pairs in the location field and has a 2d index.

Then, the following example returns those documents whose location is at most 0.10 radians from the specified point, ordered from nearest to farthest:

db.legacyPlaces.find(
   { location : { $nearSphere : [ -73.9667, 40.78 ], $maxDistance: 0.10 } }
)

2dsphere Index

If the collection has a 2dsphere index instead, you can also specify the optional $minDistance specification. For example, the following example returns the documents whose location is at least 0.0004 radians from the specified point, ordered from nearest to farthest:

db.legacyPlaces.find(
   { location : { $nearSphere : [ -73.9667, 40.78 ], $minDistance: 0.0004 } }
)

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