Question Time!

[such_heights]

Calling my geologically inclined friends: please excuse a little lazy-webbing and help me resolve a debate with my father. Is there a non-arbritrary way of distinguishing a planet's north from its south, one that doesn't simply rely on convention? And if not, does that make all sci-fi talk of an unhabitated planet's southern hemisphere etc completely nonsensical?

... These are the things that keep me up at night.

Comments

[kel_reiley]

that is a GOOD question! to which i do not know the answer, but i'd say no b/c north and south ARE human conventions and to atrribute them to an uninhabited planet... well, i suppose it would just be whatever the 1st human who arrived decides

[kel_reiley]

OH! although i *could* depend on the planet's axis and the respective poles, but i do not know how you'd determine north pole from south (assuming the planet only rotates on a single axis)