Dec 30, 2009
A meridian is an imaginary circle that runs in a north-south direction around the Earth, connecting the North Pole and the South Pole. The word "meridian" is Latin for "midday" or "noon." When it is noon at one location on a meridian, it is also noon at every other point along that meridian.
Meridians are used to measure longitude, or how far east or west a given place is on the globe. Each degree of longitude is spaced 69 miles (111 kilometers) apart at the equator. A degree of longitude becomes progressively narrower as it approaches a pole; degrees of longitude come together at a single point at each pole.
The prime meridian is the meridian of 0 degrees longitude, which runs through Greenwich, England. The prime meridian is used as the origin for measurement of longitude. On maps of the world, locations west of the prime meridian are designated "longitude west of Greenwich" and locations...
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