Latitude & Longitude

Latitude Latitude: these horizontal lines are called parallels of latitude. The Equator is at 0°. (The Equator divides the globe into the Northern and Southern Hemisphere). The numbers go up to 90° North (the North Pole) and 90° South (the South Pole).

The area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn is the called the Tropics.

Longitude Longitude: these vertical lines are called meridians of longitude. The Prime or Greenwich Meridian is at 0° (it’s called that since it goes through Greenwich, England). It divides the world into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

The Prime (Greenwich) Meridian is the 0° line of longitude. The International Date Line is the 180° line of longitude. This is where the date changes at midnight.

Cardinal Directions Cardinal Directions: N, S, E, W Ordinal Directions: NE, NW, SE, SW (notice that the North or South direction always comes first)

Solstices & Equinoxes

Winter Solstice Between Dec 21-23 in the Northern Hemisphere Hours of sun in Reykjavik: 4:08 Between Dec 21-23 in the Northern Hemisphere This is the shortest day of the year in the N. Hemisphere 24 hour night in Arctic Circle Sun directly overhead (Subsolar point) at Tropic of Capricorn Hours of sun in London: 7:50 Hours of sun in Ottawa: 9:15 Hours of sun in Singapore: 12:03

Summer Solstice Between June 20-22 in Northern Hemisphere Longest day of the year in N. Hemisphere 24 hour day in Arctic Circle (Midnight Sun) Subsolar point is at Tropic of Cancer Hours of sun in Barrow, Alaska: 24 Hours of sun in Toronto: 15:26

Now do your own research!

Answers to the next few questions

Spring Equinox (Vernal Equinox) This occurs the moment the Sun crosses the equator from south to north It is between March 19- 21 The subsolar point is at the Equator So the length of day/night around the world is around 12 hours long At the North Pole, the sun rises but stays very low to the horizon The sun stays in the sky now for 6 months The sun rises higher in the sky with each day until the summer solstice

Fall Equinox (Autumnal Equinox) This occurs the moment the Sun crosses the equator from north to south It happens September 22 – 24 The subsolar point is at the Equator again So the length of the day and night around the world is around 12 hours At the North Pole, the sun (which has been very low in the sky), sets for 6 months They are not in pitch blackness for 6 months though, they have months of a dim twilight before the darkness of the Winter Solstice

The Arctic Sun The sun at the North Pole, very low in the sky as Fall Equinox approaches

This is a time lapse image from northern Norway (close to the North Pole) The sun doesn’t set, it just kind of hovers around the horizon

Weird Phenomenon: Lahaina Noon In the tropics before the Summer Solstice, there is a time period on a specific day when the sun is truly directly overhead Hawaii is the only US state in the tropics and thus the only one to experience Lāhainā Noon. At that moment objects that stand straight up (flagpoles, telephone poles, etc.) cast no shadow. https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=qFOX3AO2FjE 4:00