DESIGNATION OF THE SIDES OF THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE SUN
The sun always begins its apparent journey across the eastern sky, and it ends in the west. This allows you to easily identify the sides of the world. That's enough, that the sun is visible and we know the time of day. You can also determine the approximate directions of the directions of the world by making a makeshift sundial or using the watch as a compass.
Northern hemisphere – Point the short hand of a clock at the sun. Draw a line in your mind that is the bisector of the angle of the short hand of a clock and twelve o'clock. This line will point south.
Southern hemisphere – Set the watch to the sun at twelve o'clock. North.
SUNDIAL – Drive a straight stick straight into the ground. At dawn, mark the end of the shadow, thrown to the ground (west in the northern hemisphere). Tie a shadow-long string to the stick and draw a loop around it on the ground. Mark the place, where in the evening (East), the shadow touches the arc.
DESIGNATION OF THE SIDES OF THE WORLD BY STARS
The stars in the sky never move relative to each other. They only seem to move across the heavens with the movement of the Earth. Only one star seems to be in the same place all the time – it's the Pole Star. Visible in the Northern Hemisphere, it points to North. In the southern hemisphere, the south is marked with the Southern Cross.
Northern hemisphere – Find the constellation of the Big Dipper in the sky (Ursa Major). Then trace the line connecting the rear wheels of the car in your mind. The polar star is on the same line about four times the distance between the wheel stars of the car. This bright star hangs over the horizon just above the point pointing north.
Southern hemisphere – Find a constellation in the sky called the Southern Cross. Along the shoulder of the cross in your mind, draw a line about four and a half times longer than the distance between the stars that mark the shoulder. South is below the end of this line. The two stars below the Southern Cross will help you determine the right point in the sky.
DETERMINING THE SIDES OF THE WORLD ON THE BASIS OF NATURE OBSERVATION
Plants and animals more than humans adjust to the natural order in space determined by the sides of the world. Plants always face the sun – in the northern hemisphere to the south, south – to the north. Sunflowers rotate their flowers, as if tracing the apparent course of the sun across the sky. Plant – The North Pole from South America tilts towards the north. The rings indicating the annual growth of tree trunks are always wider on the side, from which the sun shines (south facing northern hemisphere).
Termitiery – Some termites, when erecting termitiers, orient these imposing structures along the north-south axis. Thus, they are strongly heated by the sun in the morning and evening, while at noon they remain in the shade.
Weavers – Certain species of birds help define the directions of the world. For example, those from the subfamily of weavers only build nests on the western side of trees. If you are in the habitat of these birds, for example in southern Africa, you can safely rely on their sense of the sides of the world.
