Latitude & Longitude
Describe latitude and longitude, include a picture/diagramand explain the Mercator Projection.
Latitude is the distance measured in degrees from 0 to 90 degrees North or South of the equator. Parallels of latitude are imaginary reference lines that form complete circles around theearth. The latitudinal distance from the equator to either or the Earth's poles is 90 degrees. The equator is 0 degree; the poles are 90 degrees from the equator.
Longitude are imaginary half-circles passing from the North Pole to the South Pole. They are sometimes called Lines of Longitude. By international agreement, the 0 degrees meridian (Prime Meridian) is drawin through Greenwich, England. Meridians are numbered East and West from the Prime Meridian. East and West longitude meet at the 180 degrees Meridian, which runs through the Pacific Ocean.
Longitude are imaginary half-circles passing from the North Pole to the South Pole. They are sometimes called Lines of Longitude. By international agreement, the 0 degrees meridian (Prime Meridian) is drawin through Greenwich, England. Meridians are numbered East and West from the Prime Meridian. East and West longitude meet at the 180 degrees Meridian, which runs through the Pacific Ocean.
Mercator Projection
The Mercator Projection a cylindrical map projection presented by the Flemishgeographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It became the standard map projection for nautical purposes because of its ability to represent lines of constant course. The main advantage of charts that use the Mercator projection is that the geographic position of an object on the chart can be easily measured using the latitude and longitude scales along the four outer borders of the chart.