The latitude lines are labeled from 0o to 90o north from the equator, and from 0o to 90o south from the equator. The equator is the 0o latitude line, the north pole is at 90o north latitude; and the south pole is at 90o south latitude.

Longitude lines begin at what is called the prime meridian. This passes north to south through Greenwich, England, and is called the 0o longitude line. There are a total of 360 longitude lines which circle the Earth, passing through both the north and south poles.

The spaces between the latitude and longitude lines are called minutes, which are divided into 60 equal segments. For example, a set of coordinates could be 30o, 20 minutes north by 80o, 15 minutes west. The intersection of these lines is your location on Earth.

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Please send any comments to:
Curator: Tom.Benson@grc.nasa.gov
Responsible Official: Kathy.Zona@grc.nasa.gov