What agency designates the views of Earth we see?
All pictures of earth from space are shown with the North Pole at the top. How was it decided that would be the norm since their is no up and down in space?
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answers:
Tom S say: There is no "agency" designating this, it is just a convention of map making for the last several hundred years. So North is often placed at the top so those images will be more recognisable to the average viewer.
RE: the cartography convention see:
https://geog.ucsb.edu/why-is-north-up-on...
"The discovery and use of the compass in Europe in the 1200-1500s may have greatly influenced many modern-day maps with north at the top. A compass points to magnetic north, and Europeans, like other cultures long before, noticed that the earth spins on an axis that is relatively pointed at the north star. That idea, combined with the concept that when we look up we see the stars, contributed to north being placed up at the top of maps, with words and symbols being placed relative to that viewpoint."
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Ronald 7 say: Earth's own Geology
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quantumclaustrophobe say: It's a social agreement that North is "up" on maps... It could easily be the other way - but, for reference, that's what we've agreed to, and that's what's taught in schools. When pictures are taken from space - they can be oriented any which way; The first human photo of the Earth from lunar orbit during Apollo 8 has north to the *right* of the photo, and south to the *left*.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...
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CarolOklaNola say: For goodness sake ROTATE the image and put the south pole at the top. You can buy maps universal transverse Mercator projection maps with the south pole at the top. in Australis There 7 space agencies. There is NO agency that dictates any image of Earth HAS to have the worth pole at the top.
In space, there are only 2 directions Up is a a way from a celestial bode and down is toward a celestial. There does not have to be solid or liquid surface.
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D g say: If im not mistaken places like AUSTRALIA put AUSTRALIA ON THERE map front and center .. My uncle was a geography teacher and taught a few years in AUSTRALIA ..
SINCE most text books are probably used in northern hemisphere they are probably geared to THAT PERSPECTIVE
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