Prime meridian what is it

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Powered by. The prime meridian is the line of 0 longitude, the starting point for measuring distance both east and west around the Earth. The prime meridian is arbitrary , meaning it could be chosen to be anywhere. Any line of longitude a meridian can serve as the 0 longitude line. However, there is an international agreement that the meridian that runs through Greenwich, England, is considered the official prime meridian. Governments did not always agree that the Greenwich meridian was the prime meridian, making navigation over long distances very difficult.

Different countries published maps and charts with longitude based on the meridian passing through their capital city. France would publish maps with 0 longitude running through Paris. Cartographer s in China would publish maps with 0 longitude running through Beijing. Even different parts of the same country published materials based on local meridians. Royal Observatory. Plan your visit. Top things to do. Gifts from the home of time Learn more about the story of the Greenwich Meridian, and Royal Observatory Greenwich's place in time, in our books Shop.

But have you ever stopped to ask what is the Prime Meridian and why it is at Greenwich? Why are all time zones across the world based on GMT? What is longitude and why is the meridian moving? Buy Now. How old is Earth? How fast can you think? How long is a light year and how short is a femtosecond?

What does Greenwich Mean Time mean? Can you tell the time with flowers? When did time begin? This light-hearted, illustrated miscellany from Royal Observatory Greenwich goes a long way to answering some of these questions and also presents a whole range of other amazing facts and figures which show the influence of time on our daily lives