Latitude and Longitude on the Earth
Caption; Earth's polar grid of latitude parallels and longitude meridians is based on Earth's equator and poles. Find
the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus of Montgomery College on the globe
at 38 degrees 58 arc minutes =38.96666666667 degrees North Latitude and
77 degrees=5 arc hours and 8 arc minutes West Longitude! There
are 60 arc minutes in a degree so 38 degrees 58 arc minutes is almost
39 degrees. The historically important Gaithersburg transit
telescope observatory just north of Gaithersburg High School is at 39
degrees and 2 arc minutes North Latitude. 77 degrees West
Lontitude is the same as 5 hours and 8 minutes in rotation time.
360 degrees on longitude is equal to 24 hours of time in
rotation. Can you see how this is true? 15 degrees/hour, 1
degree/4 minutes.
Written by Dr. Harold Alden Williams.