Pole & Zenith

1.5 - Be able to use the major divisions of the Earth’s surface as astronomical reference points, including:
d) Arctic Circle
e) Antarctic Circle
g) North Pole
h) South Pole
Poles

The pole is a point 90° from the Equator. North of the Equator is the North Pole, south of the Equator is the South Pole.
The pole is a point on the surface of the Earth at the axis of rotation.
The South Pole (90°S) is on a continental shelf (Antarctica). A United States Amundsen-Scott South Pole science station is located there. The North Pole (90°N) is in the Arctic Ocean which is frozen for most of the year.

Circles

There is an Arctic and Antarctic Circle. These are lines of Latitude that run at 66° north and south of the equator. In either circle there is at least one day in the year where the sun neither rises or sets.

 

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Earth Map 360°

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Did you know?

The coldest place on Earth was recorded in Antarctica at -89°C. The hottest recorded place on Earth was 58°C in Libya in 1922.

There is less rain in Antarctica than in the Sahara Desert.

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