Given that space is 3 dimensional, how can we be sure that the Arctic is at the top of the Earth?

Question

Given that space is 3 dimensional, how can we be sure that the Arctic is at the top of the Earth?

Answer 1

  Logic man pure logic.

Answer 2

It's just a kind of convention that all maps etc. are drawn with Arctic at the top. One can use different coordinate systems. E.g. you can consider your own house the top of the earth and calculate the latitudes and longitudes of all other places, including the Arctic, accordingly.  

Answer 3

During the middle-age, maps were drawn in any direction but often with the east up. Probably because the sun rises to the east. In any case, this is where the word "orientation" comes from because "Orient" is a synonym for "east."

During the 14th century, the compass appeared in Europe and seafarers used the north star (Stella Polaris) to navigate and find their latitude. It then made sense to draw maps with the north up and parallel lines of equal observed north star elevation that are called the latitude.

Note that it was not until the end of the 18th century, with John Harrison's invention of the marine chronometer that one managed to find the longitude accurately. The longitude is in fact the time difference with a arbitrary line of reference. Today we use the Greenwich meridian but in the past, it has been for different seafarers, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and even the Canary islands at the time of Christopher Columbus.

Answer 4

it is internationally accepted just so that everyone can relate to the direction. its just a convention otherwise every other person would argue that does India, US etc. belong to northern (upper) hemisphere or southern

Answer 5

We define north and south as a reference to the Earth's equator. Since the equator is obviously the middle of Earth, there must be a top and bottom in referrence to the equator. The arctic was termed to be at the top due to the fact that when the first geographical maps were made, most mapmakers lived in the northern hemisphere since it has most of the land mass of our planet.

Our Solar System lies roughly within a plane called the ecliptic. A result of the creation of our Solar System's spin as it condensed from a gas and dust cloud nebula. The plutoid Pluto deviates the most from this plane and it only deviates by 17 degrees so it is pretty flat. It is thus often said that our Solar System has a top and bottom.

Beyond that, things are less flat. Our galaxy, the Milky Way also has an ecliptic (since it is a spiral galaxy). But our Solar System is at a 60 degree angle to the galactic plane.

Beyond our galaxy the true 3d shape is very noticeable as galaxies are found in all sorts of angles to our own. Intergalactic space is truly 3d and has no observable flatness nor up or down.

Answer 6

It isnt....THere are many Australian maps that show that indeed from space there isnt (up).  However most of the lanmass and therefore population is located in the "northern Hemisphere" therefore historically it has been biased.  

Answer 7

You can't.

'Top' is relative to where you are and how you look at things. This is an idea that society helped form. Probably about the time that they started making maps with North at the top.

[ y'know, at first I was going to say it's not, that the Arctic isn't at the top... ]

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Answer 8

This is actually a pretty good question. But it is not "truly" answerable, because there is no top or bottom in space. Most maps are oriented with north at top due to the large population of humans living in the northern hemisphere (currently, and) during the "golden age" of voyaging,  map-making, and travel.  

The rotation of a planet dictates which end of a planet is north or south.  Venus is sometimes referred to as "upside-down" meaning, it rotates the opposite way...  or, in terms of "top-bottom" with it's south side on "top."    

This is similar to the thought of "up" and "down" in space.  There rally isn't such a thing.  Up is the direction away from the gravitational center, down is the direction toward it.  But, if you are in a vacuum, these terms don't have much of a significant value.  For space exploration, you would still need to navigate in three dimensions, but they would be more like x,y,z coordinates, and not "left-right" "forward-backward" and "up-down"  all frames of reference that make sense when trapped by gravity on a planet, but not so much once you begin to leave the planet.

Answer 9

The eath doesn't have a "Top". It is purely nothern hemosphere convention.

Gravity ensures that wherever you are on earth you are always on top of the world :)