just as querie and i hope someone knows whats to say north is the top and south is bottom how do we know that our perception of the planets position being australia near the bottom and say, canada near the top is correct

It's arbitrary.
There is no "top" or "bottom".

so who is to desipher that north is what we think it is

so who is to desipher that north is what we think it is

What do you mean?
North is North because we named it North.
It is arbitrary.

It is Up, because the people who drew the maps, and wrote the Science and History books back in olden Europe, lived in the Northern Hemisphere.

http://www.mapsinternational.co.uk/readonly/products_images/1813.JPG

You can buy maps the other way. Take your pick.

I See Sorry I Was Under The Impression The Words North & South Meant Something Imparticular

thats awesome i want one

Why did you capitalize all the words in that sentence? Why did you say "Imparticular" instead of "in particular"?

oh i accidently typed it all in capitals but it must have changed it in that way and imparticular must have been a spelling mistake

thats awesome i want one

Me too!

Stephen, a bit of trivia. The ancient Egyptians did have south at the top. Up for them were the headwaters of the Nile, to the south. The had the upper kingdom (in the south) and the lower kingdom (to the north).

There's one great advantage of having the south at the top -- for a map of somewhere in the northern hemisphere. It means that the equator, representing the sun, is at the top. Now if you imagine the sun shining down on the map from the top, you can show relief (height) by shading the north sides of the hills. (I don't know if I am explaining this well; it becomes very clear when you see such a map, but I don't know of one on the Internet.)

I am all for campaigning for a turnaround. It would also have the great advantage of making us look anew at our geography. A third advantage is that it would take the Scots down a peg by putting them at the bottom of a map of the British Isles.

There's one great advantage of having the south at the top -- for a map of somewhere in the northern hemisphere. It means that the equator, representing the sun, is at the top. Now if you imagine the sun shining down on the map from the top, you can show relief (height) by shading the north sides of the hills. (I don't know if I am explaining this well; it becomes very clear when you see such a map, but I don't know of one on the Internet.)

I am all for campaigning for a turnaround. It would also have the great advantage of making us look anew at our geography. A third advantage is that it would take the Scots down a peg by putting them at the bottom of a map of the British Isles.

Sorry, but you actually didn't explain it well enough - at least for me.;)

I just cannot visualize how you can have BOTH the South and the equator at the top. One or the other, fine - but not both. (And you would still have to pick a point along the equator to designate as top since it's a circle.)

Sorry, but you actually didn't explain it well enough - at least for me.;)

I just cannot visualize how you can have BOTH the South and the equator at the top. One or the other, fine - but not both. (And you would still have to pick a point along the equator to designate as top since it's a circle.)

For regional maps within the Northern Hemisphere, such as a map of the British Isles. Not for world maps.

Stephen, a bit of trivia. The ancient Egyptians did have south at the top. Up for them were the headwaters of the Nile, to the south. The had the upper kingdom (in the south) and the lower kingdom (to the north).
some more trivia,
most star maps are created with east and west reversed from regular land based maps.

Some are. Mostly Lunar maps and Mars. Also small regions of interest like the Pleiades. This is to match the veiw through a star diagonal in standard position which reverts N and S to normal but leaves E and W reversed. Depending on how a Newtonian scope tube is rotated, you can revert N/S or E/W, so it helps there as well.

Stephen, a bit of trivia. The ancient Egyptians did have south at the top. Up for them were the headwaters of the Nile, to the south. The had the upper kingdom (in the south) and the lower kingdom (to the north).

Oh bloody hell, I always wondered that.

Can I find that "upside down" map in a big size?

Try "maps" in the yellow pages.

Oh bloody hell, I always wondered that.

Kind of threw me as well, but it makes sense. The Nile played so heavily in their civilization, what with agriculture dependant on its annual fooding, that the direction the Nile came from just naturally was the "top".

i wonder, why do most, if not all, satellite images of the earth have north as up and south as down?

Convention. The same reason that you read from left to right, and not vice-versa.

Well, magnets point to the north we say, but it also points to the south.

So which way do the magnet actually point to? Both?

lol, that sounded like a stupid question :)

But if it does point to the north, then that could be seen as a advantage to the idea that north is at the top.

But only if top is seen as advantage.

A third advantage is that it would take the Scots down a peg by putting them at the bottom of a map of the British Isles.No, this would simply demonstrate that we are the foundation upon which the success of the British Isles is based.
Stephen, a bit of trivia. The ancient Egyptians did have south at the top. Up for them were the headwaters of the Nile, to the south. The had the upper kingdom (in the south) and the lower kingdom (to the north).I found that fascinating. I lived in Egypt for four years and always thought of country being oriented exactly that way.

No, this would simply demonstrate that we are the foundation upon which the success of the British Isles is based.

:bravo::roflmao::bravo:

i wonder, why do most, if not all, satellite images of the earth have north as up and south as down?

Because America makes the most maps.

Check these out.

http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/europefrommoscow570x607.jpg

http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/399060610_92cac799a01.jpg

Those damn commies.