Earth
As of 2012 the most used prime meridian for the Earth is the IERS Reference Meridian (IRM). It passes about 5.3 arcseconds east of Airy's transit circle or about 102 metres (335 ft) at the latitude of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, London. A current convention on the Earth uses the opposite of the IRM as the basis for the International Date Line.
Read more about this topic: Prime Meridian
Famous quotes containing the word earth:
“Dry as a tomb, your coloured lids
Shall not be latched while magic glides
Sage on the earth and sky;
There shall be corals in your beds,
There shall be serpents in your tides,
Till all our sea-faiths die.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
““Christ, the Lord is ris’n to Day,”
Sons of Men and Angels say,
Raise your Joys and Triumphs high,
Sing ye Heav’ns, and Earth reply.”
—Charles Wesley (1707–1788)
“Illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory.... There is nothing on earth so easy as to forget, if a person chooses to set about it. I’m sure I have as much forgot your poor, dear uncle, as if he had never existed—and I thought it my duty to do so.”
—Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816)