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geography 12

The document explains how latitude and longitude are used to describe locations on Earth, with latitude represented by circles and longitude by meridians. It discusses the concepts of Local Time, Universal Time, and the International Date Line, highlighting the significance of Greenwich Mean Time as a global time reference. Additionally, it details the Indian Standard Time, which is based on the standard meridian of 82.5°E passing through Uttar Pradesh.

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3 views12 pages

geography 12

The document explains how latitude and longitude are used to describe locations on Earth, with latitude represented by circles and longitude by meridians. It discusses the concepts of Local Time, Universal Time, and the International Date Line, highlighting the significance of Greenwich Mean Time as a global time reference. Additionally, it details the Indian Standard Time, which is based on the standard meridian of 82.5°E passing through Uttar Pradesh.

Uploaded by

sauravsidharth0
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PHYSICAL

GEOGRAPHY
Latitude and Longitude
Any location on Earth is described by two numbers - its latitude and its longitude.

Latitude

On a globe of the Earth, lines of latitude are circles of different size. The longest is the equator; whose

latitude is zero, while at the poles—at latitudes 90onorth and 90osouth (or -90°) the circles shrink to a

point.
Longitude
 On the globe, lines of constant longitude ('meridians') extend from pole to pole.

 Every meridian must cross the equator. Since the equator is a circle, we can divide it-like any

circle-into 360 degrees, and the longitude of a point is then the marked value of that division

where its meridian meets the equator.

 For historical reasons, the longitude (meridian) passing the old Royal Astronomical Observatory

in Greenwich, England, is the one chosen as zero longitude. Located at the eastern edge of

London, the British capital, the observatory is now a public museum and a brass band stretching

across its yard marks the 'prime meridian'.


 A line of longitude is also called a meridian, derived from the Latin, from meri, a variation of

'medius' which denotes 'middle; and diem, meaning 'day'. The word once meant "noon", and times

of the day before noon were known as 'ante meridian' while times after it were 'post meridian'.

Today's abbreviations a.m. and p.m. come from these terms, and the Sun at noon was said to be

"passing meridian ".All points on the same line of longitude experienced noon (and any other hour)

at the same time and were therefore said to be on the same "meridian line".
Local Time (LT) and Time Zones
• Two important concepts, related to latitude and (especially)longitude are Local Time (LT) and Universal

Time (UT).

• Longitudes are measured from zero to 180° east and 180° west (or -180°), and both 180-degree

longitudes share the same line, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

• As the Earth rotates around its axis, at any moment one line of longitude "the noon meridian" faces the

Sun, and at that moment, it will be noon everywhere on it. After 24 hours the Earth has undergone a full

rotation with respect to the Sun, and the same meridian again faces noon. Thus each hour the Earth

rotates by 360/24 = 15 degrees.


The Date Line and Universal Time
 Longitude determines only the hour of the day—not the date, which is determined separately. The

international date line has been established-most of it following the 180th meridian-where by common

agreement, whenever we cross it the date advances one day (going west) or goes back one day

(going east).

 That line passes the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia, which thus have different dates, but

for most of its course it runs in mid-ocean and does not inconvenience any local time keeping.
 Astronomers, astronauts and people dealing with satellite data may need a time schedule which

is the same everywhere, not tied to a locality or time zone. The Greenwich Mean Time, the

astronomical time at Greenwich (averaged over the year) is generally used here. It is sometimes

called Universal Time (UT).

 The Royal Observatory at Greenwich in London was adopted as the site of the Universal Time

meridian of longitude by the International Meridian Conference—a meeting of 25 nations in

Washington DC on 22nd October 1884. The decision formalised the international standard time

reference point of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which is still used to delineate world time zones.
Indian Standard Time (IST)

This is the imaginary line passing through mid of the standard Meridian in the middle of the country and

standard time of the country is followed all over the country to avoid the inconvenience caused by the

difference in local times of different places in the country. 82.5oE or 82o30’E longitude, passing through

Mirzapur (Amravati Chauraha) Uttar Pradesh, is the Standard Meridian of India. The time at this

longitude is the standard time of India, called the Indian Standard Time (IST).
NEXT>>>>
• Lines crossing different countries
THAN K YOU

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