Compass directions? I don't get it :(?

Question

Ok well, alot of things pop up in my life where people have told me to go north, or south west and i just don't get how it works, I mean i know if i had a compass I would be ok, but without one people still manage to know where they are. Can someone explain how they know this? or how to remember which direction is where. Thanks alot in adv i really wanted to know this ever since i saw a compass.

Answer 1

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Oh dear! Five People here have given you that old 'The Sun rises in the east' bit that is only actually true for two days of the year.
The Sun rises in an easterly direction and sets in a westerly direction.
The Sun is currently rising in the south east and sets in the south west.
In the height of summer it rises in the north east and sets in the north west.
At the Equinoxes (equal day and night) it rises due east and sets due west....that's on March 22nd and September 22nd but some years it's on the 21st.

I very rarely use a compass even on long walks on the hills and mountains.
Nature has all the clues necessary to find your way around, and so do towns believe it or not.
Here is a long answer about compasses which is just as true for UK and for all over the world as for Australia. It also explains another way to navigate, without using north as a reference. It is called the 'home' system, using the direction of home as the reference line.
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind… . . . . . .
This site shows you how to use a compass
http://www.compassdude.com/compass-readi… . . . . .
Here is a navigational compass with the varying positions of sunrise and sunset marked on it
http://www.eos-magazine.com/EOS%20Collec… . . . . .
The changing direction of sunrise and sunset is explained on here.
http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/EveningSt… . . . .
BTW that method for finding south by using a watch doesn't work very well. It can be wrong by more than 20 degrees. Try it for yourself, the ultimate test to dispel disbelievers.
Somebody dreamed it up years ago and it got slavishly copied from one book to another. It gives you a rough idea of where south is but you can do that just by looking at the Sun and the time anyway, more accurately than the hands of a watch can do it most times.

Mostly, finding out where you are and knowing which direction is which is just a matter of developing awareness.
We get so many things done for us life is too easy and we don't have to be aware as much as people did in the past.
We can read a book on the bus, get off at the train station, travel to Scotland from Cornwall, and get another bus without ever noticing which direction we are travelling in, and it still works.
All we have to do is get the right number bus and read the departure screen at the station, or ask somebody if we can't read, or we if can't recognise numbers, so we get on the right bus or train.
A lot of people in America can't even find their own state on a map, or even find USA on a world map.
Remember when Sarah Palin, a vice-presidential candidate at the last election in USA, asked if South Africa is a separate place or just part of a country?
She didn't even know that Africa is a continent.
She was the Governer of Alaska!
Standing for vice president of the world's most powerful country.
Embarrassing or what?
Here is the news story..on the second video the guys are talking about it. Takes a few seconds to load.
http://news.spreadit.org/palin-africapal… . . . .
So worry not.
Just start being aware of things as you wander around and you'll soon be navigating with the best of 'em.
That's all it is.
See my answer here for a chuckle
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind… . . . . .
Have fun.

Source(s):

Ex-Army outdoorcraft and navigation instructor.

Answer 2

The position of the Sun is a big clue!

Answer 3

Easiest way is to look at the direction the sun is travelling (if you can see it), it rises in the East and sets in the West, you can then work out North and South.

Answer 4

I'm one of those people who'd give a cardinal point as a direction. As such, I can't understand how someone doesn't know which way I mean. It drives my better half crazy, but I can't tell you how I know how to do it, let alone tell you how to do it.

Also, I don't wear a watch, but I always know what time it is to a reasonable accuracy. That drives her nuts as well!

Oh, I'm in England a lot so the sun's useless for navigation. I do know how I do it, but it's too long and boring.

Answer 5

The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west traveling over the sky in an arc. So according to the time of day you can more or less know where the sun should be, for example at noon it will be directly overhead.

So if you know it is the morning, and the sun is low in the sky to your right you are facing North- likewise if its late afternoon and its low to your right then it must be in the west and you are facing South.

Answer 6

You can use the Sun. It rises in the east and sets in the west. In the northern hemisphere, it's south of you.

If you want a reasonably accurate direction, you can use your watch. You point the hour hand in the direction of the sun and the line that bisects the angle between the hour hand and 12.00 is the north-south line

Answer 7

It is a matter of knowing the location of towns and landmarks,memory and habit.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. If one is facing north, east and west are on one's right and left.
Based on remembering common maps, one knows a town or country is a certain direction from your location.

Answer 8

Usually people have lived in an area for a while and generally know which way is south or north. For instance, I always know whether I need to get the train southbound or northbound from where I am because I have an idea of how far south or north I am from where I want to be. It's about learning by experience and not some innate sense!

If you're worried, buy a new Iphone - they have an inbuilt compass in them.

Answer 9

Well...as we are in the Northern hemisphere, at mid day the sun is due south, west is thus on ones right, east is to the left. North,logically, is behind you.

OLn a cloudless night (rare yes, but not uncommon in winter, look up, you will see the Great Bear (Ursa Major) follow the stars from left to right and up and down ..the last 2 stars on the right, point directly to the North Star..looking at that you are facing Due North....simple