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If you were the boss of a group of intergalactic explorers, what would you use as the "North" on the space compasses? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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On Earth, the cardinal directions are straightforward. The arrow on a compass points to the nearest magnetic pole. You can then use it to travel anywhere on Earth.

In space, the idea of anything being "central" enough to be used as a "North" (since the universe has no center) or being fixated enough to not somehow pose issues is more convoluted.

If you were a pioneer of space exploration, what would your "North" be?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

You would likely start from the center of your galaxy, then pick a culturally relevant star near the outskirts, in our case Sol, and call that, well, something (Solbound?) Then work your right angles from there. You could pick other cultural stars in the other directions too.

Most galaxies are pretty flat, so you'd probably have to reference a conveniently positioned other galaxy for your up and down.