How do you find where north is without a compass or map?

Question

I know you can look at the star (north star), but how can you tell looking at the sky at 12 noon?

Answer 1

Put a stick in the ground. Mark the end of its shadow. Wait about 10-20 minutes. Mark the new end of the shadow. Connect the first to the second and this line points East.

Answer 2

If you're in the UK or anywhere in the northern hemisphere the sun will always be to the South of you. If you are in the southern hemisphere, the sun will be to the North of you.

If you look straight up above you and then find the sun, you may notice that the sun is 'nearer' one horizon than any others.

How easy it is to notice depends on your exact location and time of year. The further away you are from the equator, the easier it is to notice. Because the sun will always appear to be nearer to one horizon. It is also easier to notice nearer winter. This is because the sun is 'lower' in the sky than in summer.

Obviously the sun doesn't shine much in winter. So Spring and Autumn are better times to notice this in the UK. When you face North, the sun will be 'behind' you. So start walking 'away' from the sun for a bit. After a while, you will then be able to see which way the sun is setting and thus locate West. Keep facing north and the sun will go past your left shoulder the nearer it is to setting.

This method, however, won't work too well if you happen to be in the middle of sahara desert, at midday on the sunniest day of the year. Since the sun will be right in the middle of the sky. However if you were to wait until the sun started to set you could locate West and be able to find North.

Answer 3

What an amazing lot of replies you've had! I'm sure you won't be getting lost any more if you remember all of them. But in case you do, and in case you happen to wander across here to the southern hemisphere (you'll have to wait until the sun sets - sorry!) there's one easy method that hasn't been mentioned. Look up at the night sky, find the Southern Cross, use it in the usual way to find south ("everybody" knows that: measure about four and a half times along the length of the long axis, and drop straight down: that's south), and take it from there.

Answer 4

that is tough question

at 12 o' clock noon, because the sun is practically right above our heads, there is little way to find north. If you were to wait about 20 min - 1 hour, the sun would be on the east side, so you will know that north would be a quarter turn
counter-clock-wise away from the sun. If it is before noon, you will have to turn a quarter clock-wise from the sun. Both turns would bring you facing the north.

Answer 5

1) If you're on the edge of a wood, look at the trees. In the northern hemisphere any moss growing on the trunks will be on the northern side;
2) If you have a watch, and you can see the sun, point the hour hand at the sun, and bisect the angle between the hour hand and 12 (during BST between the hour hand and 1) on the watch face. This bisecting line will point north.

Answer 6

If the sun is visible, its position in the sky will tell. The azimuth of the sun moves about 15 degrees per hour. so you can look at your watch, figure out where the sun would be at noon, and that will give you south (or north, if you are Down Under).

Answer 7

I think nearly everybody above has given you versions of the correct answer, but if you would like to know if you are travelling north in the united kingdom you could talk to anybody about - if their diction sound quite English you are in the South but if their diction uses funny words (ha-way hen!) then you are travelling north - get past the language barrier and you will find really helpful people who will actually go out of their way to take you North.

Answer 8

The easiest way is to use your watch as mentioned by mumike1946 and vamechiz. However, mumike1946's answer is slightly inaccurate. South is found by using the hour hand and the number 12 on the clock face. If it were true that you used the minute hand, the direction of south would rotate once an hour!
Just thought I'd mention it, because the right answer has no votes!

Answer 9

Powdery green algae found on trees, always grows on the north side, never on any of the other compass points so if you are in the country where the air is moist enough you will always quickly find the direction North.

Answer 10

The Earth rises in the East and sets in the West so you can look at the positioning of the sun, i.e. after noon it will be in a westly direction and vice versa. But also another trick that I picked up..........................if you look at a the direction a sky sattellite dish is pointing, it points South West and that is common to all of them. So if you see any sky sattellite dishes you can navigate directions from the direction they are pointed in