The astronomical position of the continent of Europe – Throughout history, there must have been a distinction between Europe as a continent. Most of the continents that are separating can be appreciated clearly through traditional globes or maps. Even so, we sometimes see Europe as part of Asia.
In fact, Europe is a large peninsula extending westward from the main body of Eurasia, named after the landmass that comprises Asia and Europe.
Location of the Continent of Europe
So, how is the location of this one continent?
Astronomical
The European continent is located at an astronomical location of 35° North Latitude – 71°06′ North Latitude and 9°27′ West Longitude – 66°20′ East Longitude. Because the first meridian is at zero degrees, there is a change in direction from west to east length.
In the northern hemisphere and the western and eastern regions, that’s where Europe is located. As the second smallest continent in the world, Europe covers an area four times smaller than Asia or America and three times smaller than Africa, which is 10 million square kilometers. Even so, Europe is the richest continent in the world and has 47 countries.
Geographical
Europe is considered to be historically important, and this has led to it being considered a continent for many years. One of the most striking features of the European continent is its coastline.
The European “peninsula” is bounded by many smaller peninsulas, mainly the Iberian peninsula, Scandinavia, the Balkans, to Jutland. In fact, there are many islands that are considered part of the continent even though they are located on the high seas, such as Great Britain, Sicily, Iceland, Ireland, Crete and Corsica.
The boundaries of the European continent are the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the North Sea to the north. The continent also has an open connection to the Black Sea via the Dardanelles and Istanbul Straits.
Along the Ural Mountains it forms the eastern border of Europe, along the Kara and Ural rivers and through the Caspian depression to the Caspian Sea.
The location in Europe was ideal for conquest, trade, movement of goods and people, war and even the spread of ideas. Because, their access and location to major sea and ocean routes, Europeans also explored other parts of the world and colonized. This is why Europe is famous all over the world.
European Geography Facts
One thing to note regarding European geography is that some statistics will be found in European Russia even though the mainland is considered part of Asian Russia geographically. Here are some geographical facts on the continent of Europe:
- The Vatican is the smallest country in Europe, in terms of area and population
- Germany is the largest country in Europe by population
- Europe’s highest point is Mount Elbrus in Russia
- Europe’s lowest point is the Caspian Sea which borders Russia
- Europe’s highest point is Mt. Blanc in France and Italy
- Europe’s lowest point is Lammefjord in Denmark
Traditionally, the Russian landmass lying west of the Ural Mountains is referred to as European Russia in most educational atlases and most geographers. It is so called not because Russia is a separate country, but because of its long-term cultural, political and geographical amalgamation with neighboring European countries.
77 percent of Russia is included in the Asian continent, while 33 percent is included in the European continent. Even so, nearly 77 percent of the entire Russian population, live in European Russia.
European Russia alone comprises 3,960,000 square km (1,528,560 square miles) and covers about 40 percent of Europe’s territory. As before, its eastern border depends on the Ural Mountains and its southern border is bounded by the Kazakh border.
Europe map
On Earth, Europe is the sixth largest continent and includes 51 independent nations on various islands and territories. Meanwhile, the surface area recognized by Europe includes about 10.5 million square kilometers or 2 percent of the entire surface of the Earth and 6.8 of its total land area.
Europe, in a precise geographical definition, is not really a continent. It is part of the Eurasian peninsula which includes all parts of Europe and Asia. Even so, Europe is still widely called a continent because of differences, such as cultural differences.
There are many waters that border the continent of Europe, which is separated from Asia by the Ural Mountains, the Caspian and Black Seas, and Russia. Meanwhile, this continent is separated from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea.
Influence on European Climatic Conditions
The astronomical position of the European continent makes it possible to partially explain the behavior of its climate. It is known that areas near the north pole or south pole are very cold because they receive only oblique sunlight, while the zones near the equator are hotter, because the sun shines directly on these surfaces, thus projecting more sunlight per square inch of land.
The oceans bordering the European continent also condition its climate. The oceans collect and store large amounts of solar energy, especially around the equator, and carry that heat with their currents.
Ocean currents can move water thousands of miles away. Because of the staggering amount of heat that the oceans can absorb, oceanic climates are often cooler than continental climates, with lower variations in temperature from day to night, and from winter to summer.
These variables affect not only temperature, but also rainfall patterns over large parts of Europe. Because hot water cools more slowly than on land, the water thus moderates the coastal environment.
This thermal inertia allows coastal communities to have more moderate climates than would be conceivable for places farther north. Unfortunately inland Europe does not benefit from coastal waters.
The Gulf Stream transports warmer water from the South Atlantic to the North Atlantic and moderates temperatures in Western Europe. Western Europe mostly has a temperate or moderately rainy climate, type C.
The Gulf Stream originates in the Gulf of Mexico, where water warms and is transported by strong currents to the East Coast of the United States and then across the Atlantic Ocean and influences the climate of the European region.
The most dramatic effects of this Gulfstream can be found on the western coastal islands of Scotland, which have a moderately mild climate where several forms of tropical flora are cultivated.
Norway’s coast is another example. Although most of Norway’s coastal area lies in the Arctic region, it remains free of ice and snow throughout the winter.
People living closer to Eastern Europe and Russia are in colder climates. The coldest air descends from the Arctic north or from eastern Siberia.
The Mediterranean Sea moderates temperatures southward, giving it a C climate type around its coast. Type C climates are found with type E climates near the Arctic Circle in Norway and Iceland.
European history
Europe, a brief chronological record of key events beginning in prehistoric times with the appearance of Homo sapiens (ancient human), approximately 40,000 years ago.
Early inhabitants during the Paleolithic Age, in an effort to survive, grouped together into small, herd-like societies, and lived by gathering plants and hunting wild animals.
The practice of cultivating land, producing crops and raising livestock began in the Neolithic Age around 9,000 years ago, stone tools were used and people began to live in small groups, or villages.
As humans continued to travel from east to west across Eurasia (a combination of Asia and Europe), knowledge of new tools and methods of organization arrived; civilization thrives as metal axes and arrowheads increase survival.
Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages in the 8th century BC. Classical Greek culture also had a strong influence on the Roman empire which eventually brought many versions of that culture to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Northern Europe. In short, Greek culture laid the foundation for modern Western culture.
Of the great civilizations that flourished in Europe, the Roman Empire mentioned earlier must have had the most enduring influence. During an often tumultuous 500-year period of innovation, he transformed continents and had a deep and enduring influence on the development of modern architecture, language, law, and religion.
After its fall, the Eastern Roman Empire (285-1450) survived as the Byzantine Empire. In Western Europe, a series of tribes and tribal alliances moved into positions of power in what remained of the former Roman Empire; small kingdoms were established, and the geography of Western Europe was about to change.
The Frankish empire was the area of southeastern Europe inhabited and ruled by the Franks. They would evolve into the French Empire, and part of it would become the Holy Roman Empire, the forerunner to Germany as we know it today.
The Anglo-Saxons soon crossed the (present-day) English Channel into southern England and founded a series of kingdoms that would eventually develop into the Kingdom of England in AD 927, 100 years later, the Kingdoms of Poland and Hungary would also form.
From the late 8th century to the mid-13th century, the Viking Age spanned Northern Europe and Scandinavia. With little interest in land acquisition, Scandinavian (Norse) Vikings aggressively explored Europe for trade and wealth. Not only that, the Vikings also reached Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland, and Anatolia, aka Turkey.
The Normans (Vikings) gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. Originally appearing in the first half of the 10th century, they had a significant influence in many parts of Europe, from the Norman conquest of England to southern Italy and Sicily.
In the late 15th century, great powers emerged in Europe, with Britain, France, Holland, Portugal and Spain, and played a dominant role in global affairs from the 15th century onwards, especially after the start of colonialism.
The European colonial period, from the 1500s to the mid-1900s, was a time when the aforementioned European powers established colonies in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled the Americas (north and south), large parts of Africa, Oceania, and large parts of Asia at various times.
As people longed for freedom around the world, the European colonial era began to crumble. In particular, the British Empire, the first truly global empire, began to lose power in Africa, India, and much of the Middle East, and they soon collapsed.
Another thing that also damaged the continent was World War I and II, because they were mostly focused on Europe. The colossal costs of the two wars contributed greatly to the decline of Western European dominance in world affairs, and some Eastern European countries have not yet fully recovered.
Europe is said to have changed for the better after the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. European cultures and factions soon integrated, the European Council was formed and the European Union (EU) developed in Western Europe.
Today, many say that Europe is a major economic and political powerhouse. As for the people who are an innovative, optimistic, and resilient group that changes the world.
About Astronomy
After learning about astronomical locations to history in Europe, let’s find out about astronomy itself.
Coordinate
The astronomical coordinate system is set in settings to determine the positions of satellites, planets, stars, galaxies, and other celestial objects relative to a physical reference point available to an observer (eg the horizon and cardinal direction north to the observer’s position on the Earth’s surface).
Coordinate systems in astronomy can determine an object’s position in three-dimensional space or simply plot its direction on the celestial sphere, if the object’s distance is unknown or trivial.
Spherical coordinates, which are projected onto a celestial sphere, are similar to the geographic coordinate system used on the surface of the Earth. It differs in the choice of a fundamental plane which divides the celestial sphere into two equal hemispheres along a great circle.
Rectangular coordinates, in appropriate units, have the same fundamental plane (x,y) and primary direction (x-axis) as the axis of rotation. Each coordinate system is given a name according to its choice of fundamental plane.
Map
An astronomical map is any cartographic representation of stars, galaxies, or the surfaces of planets and moons. Modern maps of this kind are based on a coordinate system analogous to geographic latitude and longitude. In most cases, modern maps are compiled from photographic observations made, either with Earth-based equipment or with instruments aboard spacecraft.
Nature and Significance
Brighter stars and clusters of stars are easy for a trained observer to spot. Much more dim celestial bodies can be found and identified only with the help of astronomical maps, catalogs, and in some cases almanacs.
The first astronomical charts, globes, and drawings, often decorated with fantastical figures, depicted the constellations, right down to the recognizable groupings of bright stars known by the imaginatively chosen names that for centuries have been a delight to man and instrument. reliable navigational aids.
Some royal Egyptian tombs from the 2nd millennium BC include paintings of constellation figures, but these cannot be considered accurate maps. The classical Greek astronomers used maps and globes; unfortunately, no examples have survived. Many small metal celestial globes from 11th century Islamic makers onwards remain.
The first printed planispheres (representations of the celestial sphere on a flat surface) were produced in 1515, and printed celestial spheres appeared at about the same time.
That’s an article regarding the astronomical location of the European continent according to sinaumedia’s version, which we hope can help Sinaumed’s become #MoreWithReading. Don’t forget to visit the sinaumedia.com site for various useful books filled with other knowledge.
Author: Sevilla Nouval Evanda