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Historically, the north and south poles of a magnet were first defined by the Earth's magnetic field, not vice versa, since one of the first uses for a magnet was as a compass needle. A magnet's North pole is defined as the pole that is attracted by the Earth's North Magnetic Pole, in the arctic region, when the magnet is suspended so it can ...
Deviation is positive if a compass bearing mark (e.g., compass north) is right of the related magnetic bearing (e.g., magnetic north) and vice versa. For example, if the boat is aligned to magnetic north and the compass' north mark points 3° more east, deviation is +3°.
An 8-point compass rose is a prominent feature in the logo of the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball club. Hong Kong Correctional Services's crest uses a four-pointed compass rose. The compass rose is used as the symbol of the worldwide Anglican Communion of churches. [22] A 16-point compass rose was IBM's logo for the System/360 product line.
Magnetic dip causes the compass to dip upward or downward depending on the latitude. Illustration of magnetic dip from Norman's book, The Newe Attractive. Magnetic dip, dip angle, or magnetic inclination is the angle made with the horizontal by Earth's magnetic field lines. This angle varies at different points on Earth's surface.
Google Earth is a web and computer program that renders a 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery.The program maps the Earth by superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and GIS data onto a 3D globe, allowing users to see cities and landscapes from various angles.
The Earth's axis of rotation remains effectively stationary throughout the year. Thus, with knowledge of the current time and geographical position in the form of latitude and longitude, which are set on the instrument using dials, an astrocompass can be sighted onto any astronomical object with a known position to give an extremely accurate reading.
The magnetic compass is very reliable at moderate latitudes, but in geographic regions near the Earth's magnetic poles it becomes unusable. As the compass is moved closer to one of the magnetic poles, the magnetic declination, the difference between the direction to geographical north and magnetic north, becomes greater and greater.
Burt's solar compass or astronomical compass/sun compass is a surveying instrument that makes use of the Sun's direction instead of magnetism. William Austin Burt invented his solar compass in 1835. The solar compass works on the principle that the direction to the Sun at a specified time can be calculated if the position of the observer on the ...