129:
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468:(or simply the declination where the context is clear). For many purposes and physical circumstances, the error in direction that results from ignoring the distinction is tolerable; in others a mental or instrument compensation, based on assumed knowledge of the applicable declination, can solve all the problems. But simple generalizations on the subject should be treated as unsound, and as likely to reflect popular misconceptions about
32:
658:, would arrive at east and west by noting the directions of rising and setting (preferably more than once each) and choosing as prime direction one of the two mutually opposite directions that lie halfway between those two. The true folk-astronomical definitions of east and west are "the directions, a right angle from the prime direction, that are closest to the rising and setting, respectively, of the sun (or moon).
955:
Throughout the world, the east or sunrise point was the prime direction and signified light, life, and birth. The west and southwest were the land of the dead. Temples, cathedrals and churches were oriented to the sunrise point at the vernal equinox, to the summer solstice, or to the sunrise point on
1024:
means the southern and western side. The first is derived from the preposition Hagi, 'up, upward;' the latter from the preposition Hifo, 'down, downward.' In many of the other
Polynesian groups the expressions 'up' and 'down' are used with reference to the prevailing trade-winds. One is said to 'go
495:
provides a vivid metaphor of that direction corresponding to "up". Thus the choice of the north as corresponding to "up" in the northern hemisphere, or of south in that role in the southern, is, before worldwide communication, anything but an arbitrary one - at least for night-time astronomers.
634:
While the choice of north over south as prime direction reflects quite arbitrary historical factors, east and west are not nearly as natural alternatives as first glance might suggest. Their folk definitions are, respectively, "where the sun rises" and "where it sets". Except on the
Equator,
670:"North of X" is a phrase often used by Americans to mean "more than X" or "greater than X" in relation to the conventional direction of north being upwards, i.e. "The world population is north of 7 billion people" or "north of 40 ".
842:
562:
suggests that perhaps this was because the better-known places in his world were in the northern hemisphere, and on a flat map these were most convenient for study if they were in the upper right-hand corner.
956:
the day sacred to the saint to whom the church was dedicated. In China, however, the temple of the sun at Pekin was oriented to the sun at the time of the winter solstice.
881:
533:
at the top, or if the Earth's axis is represented as inclined from vertical (normally by the angle it has relative to the axis of the Earth's orbit), in the top half.
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Early
Islamic maps favoured south at the top because most of the early Muslim cultures were north of Mecca, so they imagined looking up (south) towards it .
475:
Maps intended for usage in orienteering by compass will clearly indicate the local declination for easy correction to true north. Maps may also indicate
222:, meaning "left; below" as north is to left when facing the rising sun. Similarly, the other cardinal directions are also related to the sun's position.
639:
east and west would not be 180 degrees apart, but instead would differ from that by up to twice the degrees of latitude of the location in question, and
542:
occasionally with a single arrow oriented to the map's representation of magnetic north, or two arrows oriented to true and magnetic north respectively,
1086:
1003:
An
Account of the Polynesian Race: Its Origins and Migrations, and the Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I
1154:
554:"Up" is a metaphor for north. The notion that north should always be "up" and east at the right was established by the Greek astronomer
969:
566:
North is quite often associated with colder climates because most of the world's populated land at high latitudes is located in the
1025:
up' when travelling against the wind, and to 'go down' when sailing before it. In New
Zealand the north was conventionally called
549:, but if so, usually on a map with north at the top and usually with north decorated more prominently than any other compass point.
666:
Being the "default" direction on the compass, north is referred to frequently in
Western popular culture. Some examples include:
420:
often denotes the side appearing to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from afar along the axis of rotation. However, the
841:
Archinal, Brent A.; A'Hearn, Michael F.; Bowell, Edward G.; Conrad, Albert R.; Consolmagno, Guy J.; et al. (2010).
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115:
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is of interest because it is the direction indicated as north on a properly functioning (but uncorrected) magnetic
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homeland there are areas formerly inhabited by non-Muslim
Caucasian and Turkic peoples. In many languages of
75:
215:
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Maps are usually labelled to indicate which direction on the map corresponds to a direction on the earth,
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usually correspond to the northern edge of the area represented, unless explicitly stated otherwise or
82:
64:
42:
508:, where navigation played an important role, winds - prevailing local or ancestral - can define
500:.) On the contrary, Chinese and Islamic cultures considered south as the proper "top" end for
479:, which is a navigational term referring to the direction northwards along the grid lines of a
49:
20:
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469:
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843:"Report of the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements: 2009"
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384:
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184:
444:, rotate in the retrograde direction: when seen from the IAU north, the spin is clockwise.
8:
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453:
148:
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Maps tend to be drawn for viewing with either true north or magnetic north at the top.
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as the planetary pole that is in the same celestial hemisphere, relative to the
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usually with a single arrow oriented to the map's representation of true north,
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of the Solar System, as Earth's north pole. This means some objects, such as
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266:) is named for the same constellation, and is the source of the English word
230:
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North is used (explicitly or implicitly) to define all other directions.
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can mean both "disbelief" and "north", since to the north of the Muslim
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461:
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are considered more useful for that territory than specific directions.
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651:
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Reasonably accurate folk astronomy, such as is usually attributed to
619:
505:
410:
204:
188:
176:
1132:
770:"south | Origin and meaning of south by Online Etymology Dictionary"
746:"north | Origin and meaning of north by Online Etymology Dictionary"
31:
1260:
690:
496:(Note: the southern hemisphere lacks a prominent visible analog to
936:. San Diego, California: Book Tree (published 1997). p. 133.
818:"east | Origin and meaning of east by Online Etymology Dictionary"
794:"west | Origin and meaning of west by Online Etymology Dictionary"
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970:"Maps have 'north' at the top, but it could've been different"
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however, these definitions, taken together, would imply that
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152:
1214:
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237:
172:
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1000:; Stokes, John F. G. (1878). "Names or cardinal points ".
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they would each move slightly from day to day and, in the
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Roles of east and west as inherently subsidiary directions
491:
The visible rotation of the night sky around the visible
406:
365:
338:
1006:. Vol. 1. London: Trübner & Company. p. 18
275:
Other languages have other derivations. For example, in
906:"True north and magnetic north: what's the difference?"
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means the northern and eastern side of an island, and
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56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
448:
383:of 0° or 360°. Traveling directly north traces a
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1104:. Random House/J.M.Dent & Sons. p. 98.
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996:
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390:North is specifically the direction that, in
1085:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
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850:Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy
1155:
1141:
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929:
351:
236:"north wind, north", which, according to
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
127:
646:, markedly over the course of the year.
570:. The Arctic Circle passes through the
1284:
1047:"Can you find south using your watch?"
661:
1162:
1136:
834:
416:On any rotating astronomical object,
136:with north highlighted and at the top
1045:Jian, Baruch, Li, John (June 2011).
967:
54:adding citations to reliable sources
25:
256:, "the seven plow oxen", a name of
16:One of the four cardinal directions
13:
344:North is sometimes abbreviated as
240:, was personified as the wind-god
14:
1303:
1112:
487:Roles of north as prime direction
460:. The difference between it and
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1072:10.1111/j.1468-4004.2011.52312.x
432:or any of its satellites in the
422:International Astronomical Union
371:To go north using a compass for
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41:needs additional citations for
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449:Magnetic north and declination
1:
1123:The dictionary definition of
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341:never shines from the north.
329:("night"), since between the
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7:
933:Symbols, Sex, and the Stars
674:
214:, both descending from the
10:
1308:
1051:Astronomy & Geophysics
930:Busenbark, Ernest (1949).
686:List of northernmost items
405:The (visual) top edges of
302:the old word for north is
18:
1229:The eight principal winds
1228:
1170:
870:10.1007/s10569-010-9320-4
721:"the definition of north"
1100:Daniel Boorstin (1983).
1029:, 'down,' and the south
325:, which is derived from
151:. It is the opposite of
1063:2011A&G....52c..12J
398:fundamental direction:
1292:Orientation (geometry)
1016:In the Tonga Islands,
529:of the earth have the
498:the northern Pole Star
352:Mapping and navigation
262:. The Greek ἀρκτικός (
137:
21:North (disambiguation)
608:Northwest Territories
504:. In the cultures of
470:terrestrial magnetism
426:geographic north pole
131:
968:Williams, Caroline.
545:occasionally with a
466:magnetic declination
362:top or upward-facing
50:improve this article
19:For other uses, see
862:2011CeMDA.109..101A
662:Cultural references
568:Northern Hemisphere
216:Proto-Indo-European
149:cardinal directions
143:is one of the four
998:Fornander, Abraham
822:www.etymonline.com
798:www.etymonline.com
774:www.etymonline.com
750:www.etymonline.com
424:(IAU) defines the
295:also means "up".
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517:Western culture
510:cardinal points
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250:Septentrionalis
229:comes from the
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106:December 2011
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61:Find sources:
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39:This article
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909:
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889:. Retrieved
882:the original
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753:. Retrieved
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728:. Retrieved
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665:
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633:
572:Arctic Ocean
565:
547:compass rose
514:
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434:Solar System
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134:compass rose
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48:Please help
43:verification
40:
979:10 November
730:10 November
304:miazănoapte
289:Mesoamerica
183:indicating
132:A 16-point
1236:Tramontane
1178:directions
1033:, or 'up.'
1010:5 December
949:5 December
915:2022-10-27
891:2019-04-07
827:2018-03-03
803:2018-03-03
779:2018-03-03
755:2018-03-03
707:References
531:North Pole
477:grid north
462:true north
373:navigation
368:is north.
364:side of a
358:convention
259:Ursa Major
76:newspapers
1220:Northwest
1210:Southwest
1200:Southeast
1190:Northeast
928:Compare:
878:189842666
681:Nordicity
652:Stone Age
620:Greenland
506:Polynesia
411:landmarks
319:Hungarian
199:The word
195:Etymology
189:geography
185:direction
177:adjective
1286:Category
1261:Libeccio
1172:Cardinal
691:Northing
675:See also
385:meridian
375:, set a
333:and the
317:and in
315:midnight
313:meaning
300:Romanian
264:arktikós
252:is from
227:borealis
1271:Mistral
1266:Ponente
1251:Sirocco
1241:Gregale
1176:ordinal
1059:Bibcode
974:Bbc.com
858:Bibcode
624:Iceland
616:Denmark
612:Nunavut
584:Finland
556:Ptolemy
458:compass
381:azimuth
377:bearing
327:éjszaka
306:, from
285:Lezgian
277:Lezgian
207:to the
205:related
155:and is
90:scholar
65:"North"
1246:Levant
1022:Hihifo
1018:Hahagi
940:
876:
622:) and
600:Canada
596:Alaska
590:, the
588:Russia
580:Sweden
576:Norway
527:Globes
442:Uranus
430:planet
360:, the
269:Arctic
242:Boreas
234:boreas
218:unit *
181:adverb
92:
85:
78:
71:
63:
1256:Ostro
1205:South
1185:North
1126:north
1031:Runga
885:(PDF)
874:S2CID
846:(PDF)
656:Celts
604:Yukon
428:of a
418:north
323:észak
308:Latin
293:north
281:kefer
231:Greek
201:north
179:, or
171:is a
169:North
153:south
141:North
97:JSTOR
83:books
1215:West
1195:East
1174:and
1087:link
1027:Raro
1012:2019
981:2017
951:2019
938:ISBN
732:2017
610:and
502:maps
407:maps
337:the
238:Ovid
220:ner-
212:nord
173:noun
165:west
163:and
161:east
69:news
1067:doi
866:doi
854:109
614:),
598:),
515:In
396:the
379:or
366:map
356:By
339:Sun
321:is
298:In
203:is
191:.
187:or
159:to
147:or
52:by
1288::
1083:}}
1079:{{
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