Who made the rule that north is up?

Question

In infinite space there is no up,down,left or right.
Everything is relative to the observer.
Who made North up?

Answer 1

The North star, easily identified by the lip of the "Big Dipper" is "up". In other words you need to look up to see it. Most earlier observations considering the universe were made in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Earth's magnetic fields wander all over and have actually changed polarity at times in the past. The magnetic north will soon be in Siberia, not even close to the North Pole.

The relative change in perspection of certain stars change little as the Earth orbits the Sun. In other words the stars always appears to be in the same spot at a certain time. But if you watch the stars (most stars) at night, they pass over the night sky as the Sun does during the day. If a star is aligned perpendicular to the Earths rotation, it always will appear in the same spot. The North star is. Always in the same spot, and always up. From Earth, everything is relative to Earth.

Thanks,
Buster

Answer 2

I'm guessing but the first compasses were most likely used by sailors. If you float a magnetized needle on a piece of wood in a bucket of water it will point to the magnet north of the planet. Since Europeans did most exploring when the maps were being made, they made this magnetic north the top of the world because that's the way they write...top to bottom. The maps were designed on the same principles.

Answer 3

Most of the great sea-faring civilizations have been in the northern hemisphere. When it came time to make world maps, it was only natural for them to put the northern hemisphere on top. That the Earth's axis represented a base for orientation goes back to the work on Cartesian coodinate systems by Rene Descartes in 1637.

Before the need for world maps, I don't think it was always the practice to put north at the top.

Answer 4

It's relative to the Observer. On this Planet you go in one direction it's North The other it's south. We all agree so we can find one another. We could all agree to call North the Top.
If you turn the map upside down north will be to the south, but we'll all be someplace else.

Answer 5

It was probably an evolving process and driven by those explorers who drew the maps from their voyages to explore new worlds.

Early Maps
Cartography is the art and science of making maps. The oldest known maps are preserved on Babylonian clay tablets from about 2300 B.C. Cartography was considerably advanced in ancient Greece. The concept of a spherical Earth was well known among Greek philosophers by the time of Aristotle (ca. 350 B.C.) and has been accepted by all geographers since. Greek and Roman cartography reached a culmination with Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy, about A.D. 85-165). His "world map" depicted the Old World from about 60°N to 30°S latitudes.

Medieval Maps
During the Medieval period, European maps were dominated by religious views. The T-O map was common. In this map format, Jerusalem was depicted at the center and east was oriented toward the map top. Viking explorations in the North Atlantic gradually were incorporated into the world view beginning in the 12th century. Meanwhile, cartography developed along more practical and realistic lines in Arabic lands, including the Mediterranean region. All maps were, of course, drawn and illuminated by hand, which made the distribution of maps extremely limited.

Renaissance Maps
The invention of printing made maps much more widely available beginning in the 15th century. Maps were at first printed using carved wooden blocks. Printing with engraved copper plates appeared in the 16th century and continued to be the standard until photographic techniques were developed. Major advances in cartography took place during the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. Map makers responded with navigation charts, which depicted coast lines, islands, rivers, harbors, and features of sailing interest. Compass lines and other navigation aids were included. Such maps were held in great value for economic, military, and diplomatic purposes, and so were often treated as national or commercial secrets--classified or proprietary maps.

Whole World Maps
The first whole world maps began to appear in the early 16th century, following voyages by Columbus and others to the New World. Gerardus Mercator of Flanders (Belgium) was the leading cartographer of the mid-16th century. He developed a cylindrical projection that is still widely used for navigation charts and global maps. He published a map of the world in 1569 based on this projection. Many other map projections were soon developed.

Modern Maps
Maps became increasingly accurate and factual during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries with the application of scientific methods. Many countries undertook national mapping programs. Nonetheless, much of the world was poorly known until the widespread use of aerial photography following World War II. Modern cartography is based on a combination of ground observations and remote sensing.

Brief History of Maps and Cartography
http://academic.emporia.edu/aberjame/map/h_map/h_map.htm

Answer 6

Santa Claus

Answer 7

As language progressed certain words sounded better together,hence the names stuck:Up North,Down South...tom science

Answer 8

its a convention, but it is inspired by the European people, habitants of the north hemisphere. When you look to ancient maps, you can see different examples on how they present the countries.

Answer 9

Northerners.

Answer 10

Because that's the direction that a compass needle points and maps, placed on a compass table, can be oriented with the compass to assist with navigation.