Latitude - imagining North or South, using an umbrella.

The easiest way to imagine the movement of the sky is to think of an umbrella.

The umbrella pole is the North/South pole, and all the stars spin around that central, still point.

If you were standing  under the true North or true South still points in the sky, it would be as you were  holding an umbrella in the usual way, with the handle, or pole straight up and the umbrella above your head.

But if you were at the equator?

The pole star is now on the horizon as if you were holding the umbrella at 90 degrees to your body. 

• The latitude of the North pole is 90 degrees.
• And the latitude of the South pole is also 90 degrees.
• And so the latitude of The Equator (90 degrees to the Pole) is 0 degrees.

How to determine latitude using the Pole star.

A protractor is securely fixed to a pointer - the pointer is a long piece of wood that is attached and able to pivot from the centre of the protractor on a vertical bar pushed into the ground.

A plumb line is fixed to the middle of the protractor, the pivot point.

Now look along the edge of the protractor and raise it to the Pole star.

The angle of latitude is measured between the plumb line and the descending side of the pointer.