The Prime Meridian divides the globe into Eastern and Western hemispheres, just as the equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern hemispheres. The Prime Meridian is at 0 degrees longitude, just as the equator is at 0 degrees latitude. Use a time zone map to locate the Prime Meridian and Greenwich, England.
What is difference between Prime Meridian and meridian?
Any line of longitude (a meridian) can serve as the 0 longitude line. However, there is an international agreement that the meridian that runs through Greenwich, England, is considered the official prime meridian.
Which is longer Equator or Prime Meridian?
The earth is commonly modeled as a sphere flattened 0.336% along its axis. This makes the equator 0.16% longer than a meridian (a great circle passing through the two poles).
How are the Prime Meridian and Equator alike?
The Equator and Prime Meridian are circles that stretch all the way around the Earth. The Equator separates the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Equator is at 0° latitude. The Prime Meridian separates the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
What are the Equator and Prime Meridian called?
Zero degrees latitude is the line designating the Equator and divides the Earth into two equal hemispheres (north and south). The Equator is located at a latitude of 0 degrees. Map: Caitlin Dempsey. Zero degrees longitude is an imaginary line known as the Prime Meridian.
Where do the Equator and the Prime Meridian meet?
Null Island
Null Island is an imaginary island located at 0°N 0°E (hence “Null”) in the South Atlantic Ocean. This point is where the Equator meets the Prime Meridian.
What is an Equator Class 5?
The Equator is an imaginary line around the center of the Earth, dividing it into the North and South Hemispheres. It is a special line of latitude, located halfway between the North and South Poles.
Is Equator hot or cold?
But why is the equator very hot and the poles very cold? There are several factors that influence the amount of sunshine received at various places on the earth. The major factor is that while the sun is overhead at the equator, it is at a rather slant angle at the poles.
Which country Equator passes?
The Equator passes through 13 countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati. At least half of these countries rank among the poorest in the world.
Why is the equator hot?
Why is it hot at the Equator and cold at the poles? Sunlight hits the Earth most directly at the Equator. The curve of the Earth means that sunlight is spread over a wider area the further you move from the Equator. Sunlight hits a smaller surface area at the Equator so heats up quickly compared to the poles.
Where is Equator located?
An equator is an imaginary line around the middle of a planet or other celestial body. It is halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole, at 0 degrees latitude. An equator divides the planet into a Northern Hemisphere and a Southern Hemisphere. The Earth is widest at its Equator.
Where is the exact place on Earth?
To help us locate places on the earth’s surface, we use a coordinate system. This coordinate system is like placing a giant grid over the earth. This grid has lines extending from east to west called lines of latitude and lines extending from north to south called lines of longitude.
What is the importance of Prime Meridian and Equator?
By using the equator and prime meridian, we can divide the world into four hemispheres, north, south, east, and west. For instance, the United States is in the Western Hemisphere (because it is west of the prime meridian) and also in the Northern Hemisphere (because it is north of the equator).
What is 0 latitude called?
The equator
The equator is the most well known parallel. At 0 degrees latitude, it equally divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. From the equator, latitude increases as you travel north or south, reaching 90 degrees at each pole.
What is Prime Meridian also known as?
Greenwich meridian, also called prime meridian, an imaginary line, last established in 1851, that was used to indicate 0° longitude. It passes through Greenwich, a borough of London, and terminates at the North and South poles.
Why is Equator marked 0 degrees?
Latitude lines are a numerical way to measure how far north or south of the equator a place is located. The equator is the starting point for measuring latitude–that’s why it’s marked as 0 degrees latitude.
Why GMT is used?
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) has been used to clearly designate epoch by avoiding confusing references to local time systems (zones). Historically, astronomers used Greenwich Mean Astronomical Time (GMAT), in which the astronomical day began at noon at longitude (0°), in accord with scientific tradition.
Why longitudes are called meridians?
Longitudes are known as meridians because in Geographical sense, meridians are great circles which are not parallel to each other but intersect each other at the North and the South Poles. Same stands true of the longitudes. All longitudes are great circles which meet at the Poles.
What is the full form of GMT?
The full form of GMT is Greenwich Mean Time. GMT is the Mean Solar Time at Greenwich London’s Royal Observatory. It is measured at the Earth’s meridian that is a longitude line of zero degrees.
Which is the longest parallel?
The equator is the circle that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole. It divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Of the parallels or circles of latitude, it is the longest, and the only ‘great circle’ (a circle on the surface of the Earth, centered on Earth’s center).
Which is called latitude?
Latitude is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. It is measured with 180 imaginary lines that form circles around the Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator. These lines are known as parallels.