Prime meridian facts for kids
A prime meridian is a meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great circle. This great circle divides a spheroid, e.g., Earth, into two hemispheres. If one uses directions of East and West from a defined prime meridian, then they can be called the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.
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A prime meridian is ultimately arbitrary, unlike an equator, which is determined by the axis of rotation—and various conventions have been used or advocated in different regions and throughout history. The most widely used modern meridian is the IERS Reference Meridian. It is derived but deviates slightly from the Greenwich Meridian, which was selected as an international standard in 1884.
Longitudes for the Earth and Moon are measured from their prime meridian at 0° to 180° east and to 180° west. For all other Solar System bodies, longitude is measured from 0° (their prime meridian) to 360°. West longitudes are used if the rotation of the body is direct, that is, it follows the right hand rule. East longitudes are used if the rotation is retrograde.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Ptolemy's 1st projection, redrawn under Maximus Planudes around 1300, using a prime meridian through the Canary Islands west of Africa, at the left-hand edge of the map. (The obvious central line shown here is the junction of two sheets).
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Facsimile of Diego Ribeiro's map of 1529; the original is in the Vatican Library.
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1571 Africa map by Abraham Ortelius, with Cape Verde as its prime meridian.
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1682 map of East Asia by Giacomo Cantelli, with Cape Verde as its prime meridian; Japan is thus located around 180° E.
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Markings of the Greenwich meridian at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
See also
In Spanish: Meridiano cero para niños
