Sunday, March 20, 2016

Where in the World Are You?

A day comes in the springtime
When earth puts forth her powers
Casts off the bonds of winter
And lights him hence with flowers...
- Dora Read Goodale


Do you ever read things that you know that you should know but that seem to have fallen through the cracks? Today is the Vernal Equinox, albeit a chilly one in my neck of the woods. Spring arrived here two weeks ago and slipped out the back door yesterday. I was going to share some Spring joy with all my friends, but that's not the case for everyone.

While it is Spring here, on the other side of the world folks are wrapping up Summer and sending it packing. One thought led to another and soon I was considering things like hemispheres and who was where, and if the dividing line circles the globe how come we have four hemispheres? Did you know the United States is in both the Northern and Western Hemispheres? 

There are two dividing lines. The first being the Equator, or zero degrees latitude, which divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The second is the Prime Meridian, or zero degrees longitude, which divides the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. While the United States falls completely in both the Northern and Western Hemispheres, there are some countries which are intersected by these lines. The Prime Meridian intersects eight countries and twelve fall directly on the Equator. Depending on where the lines fall, you could be part of up to three hemispheres.

I am sure I must have learned this back in the day somewhere between Bedrock and Google, but I needed a refresher course.

So for my friends around the globe, in which hemisphere(s) are you located?

There is a good explanation found here.



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4 comments:

  1. Hi Linda - it's great when we go over the line isn't it .. slightly longer days and then warmer too .. love that image - cheers Hilary ... I'm in your half!

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    1. The days are getting longer, thanks in part to daylight savings time. Most days are warmer although we backslide a bit through April.

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  2. We live in the Northern Hemisphere, Idaho! It's about half way from the North Pole and the Equator. It's sunny and getting warmer here. Summers are HOT, winters are COLD because we are in the high dessert.

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    1. Our summers are moderately hot and often humid. Our winters are usually mild with some cold spells, even snow sometimes. Of course there are always years that are above or below our norms.

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