Southern hemisphere

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Southern hemisphere
Distribution of the continents on both sides of the equator and the prime meridian (excluding Antarctica). Part of the southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow

The southern hemisphere - or southern hemisphere, southern hemisphere (from ancient Greek ἥμισυς hémisys , German 'half' and σφαῖρα sfaira 'sphere') or southern hemisphere  - is the part of the earth that is located south of the equator . The latitude has a negative sign and the signature S . The southern hemisphere is the counterpart to the northern hemisphere .

The astronomical summer lasts in the southern hemisphere from 21./22. December to 20./21. March and winter from June 21st to June 22nd / 23rd September. South of the tropic , the highest position of the sun always remains in the north, below the zenith . The geometry of the phases of the moon is also reversed in the observation compared to the northern hemisphere. The astronomical counterpart to the southern hemisphere of the earth is the southern star sky on the celestial sphere .

The southern hemisphere has much more water than land area and thus a greater dominance of the water area than the northern hemisphere, as it is largely in the water hemisphere . The land area is about 19%, the water area about 81%. Only about 10% of the people live in the southern hemisphere. The main parts of the country are the continents of Antarctica and Australia  - the smallest continent on earth - the majority of South America , the smaller part of Africa and almost the entire Malay Archipelago . The world's oceans are the Southern Ocean , around half of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and most of the Indian Ocean .

Due to the Coriolis force rotating in the southern hemisphere low pressure areas and also, for example, hurricanes that according Malabar wind law in the clockwise direction .

The center of the southern hemisphere and the southern polar region is the geographic south pole  - the southern intersection of the earth's axis with the earth's surface . The Antarctic magnetic pole is currently just outside the southern polar circle in the sea. The northern lights of the southern hemisphere are called Aurora australis, in German southern lights.

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: Southern Hemisphere  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. Internet portal on the topic of forests, forest management and wood use in connection with climate change and CO2 ( Memento from July 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )