Why can we see Venus?

Flustered

So technically there is no north and south pole. All the pictures of Earth showing the north pole as the (top) are wrong. In Reality the south pole could be the (top) correct?

DaveC426913

North and south are defined by humans. And it is a convention only. There are planets whose south pole is "at the top". We define north as "to your left when facing the direction of spin".

But, because this is convention, it is an area of nuance, with some contention.

An alternate viewpoint is that north is always the same in our solar system, and some planets are counterrotating.

Flustered

So really the United States could be upside down. But I wouldn't think that because all the pictures I see the USA is upright. Well upright in my definition of up. Does a pole have to be the top of the Earth? Or can the equator in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean be considered a TOP.

SHISHKABOB

for a rotating spherical body like the earth, the poles are defined as where the axis of rotation intersects with the surface

Redbelly98

Since the original query has been answered, and things have since drifted way off topic, this thread has been locked.