world maps upside down?

[soft_rain]

Have you ever noticed how almost all the continents on earth get narrower and taper off on their southern ends and the northern ends are much larger and wider? Like a top spinning. Is there a gravitational pull making that happen? <br /><br />If the maps/globes were flipped around, it would make more sense. You could almost conjecture that there is a direction to the universe...our southern most continents may be on the up side...hee hee

 

[Saiph]

?<br /><br />how would it make more sense? You need to elaborate on that.<br /><br />Now, I don't think I'll agree, since I'm in the camp that direction is arbitrary. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[vogon13]

Continenetal drift has cleared out an entire hemisphere.<br /><br />Center the Pacific Ocean when you next look at a globe. . . . <br /><br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[soft_rain]

a top spins around and is wider at the bottom than the top. Or sand through an hourglass spreads out on the bottom. Just plain ole gravity does that. It's what I see when I look at a map.<br /><br />If the continents were in a semi-fluid state during the drift, it would explain why there all so similar.

 

[qso1]

If I understand what your saying, theres actually a practical reason for that. The maps laid out flat, have to be able to wrap around a globe. This distorts the coastal areas nearest the poles, and the poles themselves. This is even true in computer generated images of planets. You have to take a flat mercator projection map and map it to a CGI globe. The distortion is there to allow it to conform to a sphere.<br /><br />As for direction in the Universe. There is an existing reference called the galactic plane. The suns south polar regions (And Earths) point towards the center of the Milky Way galaxy we reside in.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_coordinate_system <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

soft_rain:<br />a top spins around and is wider at the bottom than the top.<br /><br />Me:<br />A good analogy except that gravity does not pull from the south. It pulls from within the center of earth or any object with mass.<br /><br />I think I might have misunderstood your map description. Your saying the land masses are wider as they near the top and narrower at the bottom?<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gall-Peters_projection<br /><br />http://gislounge.com/glossary/bldefmapprojection.shtml<br /><br />Here are some links that should describe the reasons for built in map distortions. Continents ultimately rest on semi fluid magma which accounts for continental drift. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[Saiph]

Tops spin around, and come in many shapes...so that doesn't really work.<br /><br />And since the gravity on earth is pointed towards the center, not the poles, the hourglass idea doesn't make much sense to me either.<br /><br /><br /><br />qso: The center of our galaxy is not in the vicinity of the south celestial pole. It's sitting in the constellation Sagittarious. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[soft_rain]

Yes, I'm saying all the land masses are much wider at the tops of the maps (north).<br /><br />Yes, gravity comes from the center ON EARTH, but gravity outside of earth could exert its force also, however imperceptible.<br /><br />Which direction is Sagitarrius?

 

[qso1]

I probably mistated it but I meant the earth or suns south poles which point in the same general direction, point towards the milkyway center, is this correct? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

Gravity outside earth would have to come from the pull of a massive enough, or near enough object. If we point towards galactic center and gravity is stronger in that direction, there are no known objects that could exert a significant enough pull on Earths southern regions for cartographers to take it into account.<br /><br />As for Saggitarius, Saiph disagreed with my account of the orientation of the Earth and Sun south poles pointing to the galactic center. I'm awaiting his answer to that question. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[Saiph]

well, the suns poles and the earth's poles are pointed in the same general direction (though the two axi intersect at 23.5 degrees....so they aren't parrallel). However they do not point at the galactic center. The galactic center is in sagitarious, which is near the ecliptic...meaning it's along the equatorial line of the solar system.<br /><br /><br /><br />now, as for the continents in the northern hemisphere seeming larger, that's usually due to the way the map is made. Most maps actually exagerate the size of landmasses in the northern hemisphere. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[qso1]

I was close since I was trying to suggest the sun and earth didn't point to the galactic edge. Thanks for the more accurate account.<br /><br />Mercator projection map (At least I think thats the map type) came to mind because they distort both the northern and southern edges of the map to allow for wrapping around a sphere. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[soft_rain]

Okay. You guys out thunked me...thanks for your help!

 

[qso1]

Probably Saiph more than me but thanks. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[thespeculator]

Most places in the southern hemisphere sell maps that show the south pole as the "top" of the world. But really, there is no "up" in this universe that we live in, just "out".

 

[harmonicaman]

As an aid to navigation, upsidedown maps of Florida are common.

 

[Saiph]

why an upside down map? I can't read that textbox on the image. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[search]

Gravity pull and not only. The story is not over yet:<br />http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=15871<br /><br />Regarding the continents shape:<br />http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~mstrick/RogueComCollege/RCC_Lectures/ConDrift_PlateTec.html<br /><br />How they "may be" in the future:<br />The Atlantic Ocean will continue to grow larger as<br />North and South America split further apart from Europe and Africa.<br />Africa is slowly moving toward Europe, gradually closing the<br />Mediterranean Sea. North America is moving toward<br />Asia, slowly shrinking the size of the Pacific<br />Ocean. Australia is also moving toward Asia. Antarctica<br />is sort of the 'leper' continent--all of the other<br />continents are moving away from it.<br /><br />The plates as they are today:<br />http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/africa/images/plates.gif<br /><br />Some wrong perceptions:<br />http://www.horizon-research.com/atlast/content/EP_Clarification.pdf#search="continents%20shape"<br /><br />Do not ever stick to actual perceptions or theories or in 88 years you will end up like this:<br />http://homepage.ntlworld.com/forgottenfutures/tetra/tetra.htm<br /><br />Flipping the continents...no problem its done every day:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Map_projection#Orientation_of_the_projection

 

[sponge]

The speculator says: Most places in the southern hemisphere sell maps that show the south pole as the "top" of the world. But really, there is no "up" in this universe that we live in, just "out". <br /><br />I live in Australia, and the statement you have just made that most places in the SH sell maps of the south pole being on top of the world, is absolute crap. We might live in the southern hemisphere, but we do know our geography. <br /><br />On a lighter note in all reality we probaly are really on top of the world. The explorers who discovered the SH did not realise that you start from the bottom and work your way up. LOL <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em><u>SPONGE</u></em></p> </div>

 

[derekmcd]

Just flip the Milky Way around and all is well... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div> </div><br /><div><span style="color:#0000ff" class="Apple-style-span">"If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing." - Homer Simpson</span></div> </div>

 

[newtonian]

TheSpeculator - Really? I have never seen maps with south as up!<br /><br />Certainly astronomers use north as up.<br /><br />And so does the Bible:<br /><br />(Job 26:7) 7 He is stretching out the north over the empty place, Hanging the earth upon nothing;<br /><br />Now, where would God be to view north as up? In this case, I agree with you: out, or outside.

 

[newtonian]

Saiph - Well, is direction arbitary?<br /><br />Have you detemined, for example, if our universe has any spin (it would have slowed down with expanion to an extreme degree - the reverse of the ice skater's faster spin when pulling in arms and legs.)<br /><br />Are spins of galaxies evenly varied or is there a bias towards any direction? Ditto solar systems in our galaxy?

 

[Saiph]

as far as I know, there has been no detection of a bias in galactic spin axi. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[newtonian]

Saiph - how about primordial spin? Do we have some idea of how much more spin there would be at the origin of our universe compared to its present size - I'm sure there is some simple formula to calculate decrease in spin with expansion of the diameter of our universe.<br /><br />Just curious what the spin rate would be now if one assumes the origin spin was just above the speed of light???<br /><br />Could that origin fast spin rate been a cause of the big bang?

 

[Saiph]

well, as there is no detectable spin now, there's no evidence of any primordial spin. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>