Why is the international date line so weird?
The International Date Line (IDL) passes through the Pacific Ocean. It is an imaginary line, like longitudes and latitudes. The time difference on either side of this line is 24 hours. So, the date changes as soon as one crosses this line.
What is 180 degree longitude?
The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the Prime Meridian, with which it forms a great circle dividing the earth into the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. It is common to both east longitude and west longitude.
Why are there 360 longitudes and 180 latitudes?
A circle is divided into 4 quarters of 90 degrees each. Longitude lines pass through the north and south poles. If you stood above the earth and looked down on the north pole from above, you would see the complete circle of the equator. So longitude goes from zero to 360 degrees.
What are two main longitudes?
The lines are called meridians of longitude and they are also measured in degrees (°) and minutes (‘). The most important line of longitude is the Greenwich or Prime Meridian (0°). This line runs through the Greenwich Observatory in London. All the other lines of longitude are given a number between 0° and 180°.
Why is latitude 180 degrees?
“Longitude” goes 360 degrees, 180 East to 180 West, to cover the entire 360 degrees around the equator. But if latitude did the same thing, every point on the earth would be covered twice! So latitude only has to cover 180 degrees, from the north pole to the south pole.
Why there are no latitudes higher than 90 degrees north and south?
Latitude is the angular distance from the plane of the Equator. Latitude only has to cover 180 degrees, from the North Pole to the South Pole. All circles make a maximum angle of 900 from the plane of the Equator. Therefore the maximum, latitude is 900 N in the Northern hemisphere and 900 S in the Southern Hemisphere.
Why is North Pole 90 degree?
The Geographic North Pole is the northernmost point on the planet, where Earth’s axis intersects with its surface. Its latitude is 90 degrees north, and all longitudinal lines meet there. From there, every direction one turns is south. Because all longitudinal lines begin from it, the North Pole has no time zone.
How many latitudes are there in total?
180 Lines
How many longitudes and latitudes are there in total?
There are 181 latitudes, 90 in north , 90 in south and one equator. coming to longitudes there are 360 longitudes. prime meridian, 179 east, 180 degree longitude and 179 west.
Which is the longest latitude?
Equator
Which is the shortest latitude?
Technically 90°N and 90°S are the shortest longitude on the Earth. Geographically, the 90°N is located in the middle of Arctic Ocean, while the South Pole 90°S is located in the middle of the continent Arctica. The 0° line (see the picture above), in fact, is the equator.
What are the 7 major lines of latitude?
Important lines of latitude:
- the equator (0°)
- the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° north)
- the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° south)
- the Arctic circle (66.5° north)
- the Antarctic circle (66.5° south)
- the North Pole (90° north)
- the South Pole (90° south)
Which is the largest circle of the globe?
equator