What is "true north"

n. (alternative case form of True North English)

True north ( geodetic north) is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole.

True geodetic north differs from magnetic north (the direction a compass points toward the magnetic north pole), and from grid north (the direction northwards along the grid lines of a map projection). Geodetic true north also differs very slightly from astronomical true north (typically by a few arcseconds) because the local gravity may not point at the exact rotational axis of the earth.

The direction of astronomical true north is marked in the skies by the north celestial pole. This is within about 1 degree of the position of Polaris, so that the star appears to trace a tiny circle in the sky each day. Due to the axial precession of the Earth, true north rotates in an arc with respect to the stars that takes approximately 25,000 years to complete. Around the year 2100 to 2102, Polaris will make its closest approach to the celestial north pole (extrapolated from recent Earth precession). Five thousand years ago, the closest visible star to the celestial north pole was Thuban.

On maps published by the United States Geological Survey and the United States Armed Forces, true north is marked with a line terminating in a five-pointed star. The east and west edges of the USGS topographic quadrangle maps of the United States are meridians of longitude, thus indicating true north (so they are not exactly parallel). Maps issued by the United Kingdom Ordnance Survey contain a diagram showing the difference between true north, grid north, and magnetic north at a point on the sheet; the edges of the map are likely to follow grid directions rather than true, and the map will thus be truly rectangular/square.

True north refers to the direction of the North Pole relative to the navigator's position.

True north may also refer to:

True North is a 1996 historical novel for young adults by Kathryn Lasky, and published by Scholastic Corporation Set in 1850s America, it is a story about the Underground Railroad. Afrika, a slave girl from Virginia, and Lucy, an independent girl constricted by Boston society, take different paths in life, Lucy exploring her family's history, and Afrika desperately searching for freedom, narrowly escaping capture.

True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership, by Bill George and Peter Sims, is a best-selling 2007 business book and follow-up to George's 2003 Authentic Leadership. The book—based on interviews between George (a Harvard Business School professor) and over 125 leaders including David Gergen, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and Sir Adrian Cadbury—discusses the qualities and effectiveness of "authentic leadership" and its viability in the business and political worlds.

The book features a foreword by David Gergen discussing the leadership styles of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. True North is part of the Warren Bennis series of business books, and is published by Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley publishing.

"True North" is the 190th episode of NBC's legal drama Law & Order, and the ninth episode of ninth season.

True North is a 2006 Scottish drama film directed by Steve Hudson and starring Martin Compston, Peter Mullan, Gary Lewis and Steven Robertson as sailors aboard a Scottish fishing boat smuggling Chinese into the United Kingdom.

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada on 11 September 2006 and was also shown at the Max Ophüls Festival in Germany, the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, the Copenhagen International Film Festival in Denmark and the Ourense International Film Festival in Spain.

True North was the name for several Thoroughbred racehorses, including:

• True North I (b. 1940)
• True North III, (b. 1966)

"True North" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American fairy tale/drama television series Once Upon a Time. The series takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke, Maine, in which the residents are actually characters from various fairy tales that were transported to the "real world" town by a powerful curse. In the episode, Sheriff Emma Swan ( Jennifer Morrison) helps two children ( Karley Scott Collins and Quinn Lord) track down their father before they are placed in a foster care system, in a parallel with the story of Hansel and Gretel. Along the way, they encounter the Evil Queen ( Lana Parrilla), and the Blind Witch ( Emma Caulfield).

"True North" was co-written by Liz Tigelaar and David H. Goodman, while being directed by Dean White. Co-creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz chose the story of Hansel and Gretel to help reveal Emma's difficult backstory, as the character lacked a fairytale counterpart. They cast Caulfield because they were fans of her work on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Blind Witch's gingerbread house had a computer-generated exterior, while its interior set was based on concept art designed by production designer Michael Joy.

The episode first aired in the United States on ABC on January 15, 2012. An estimated 9.84 million viewers watched the episode on its original broadcast. It earned a Nielsen ratings share of 3.3/8 among adults, meaning that it was seen by 3.3 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 8 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of broadcast. This was a decrease of 11 percent from the previous episode. Critical reception was largely mixed to negative, with critics praising Caulfield's performance but critiquing other elements.

True North is the sixteenth studio album by the California punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released on January 22, 2013. After touring in support of their previous album The Dissent of Man (2010), Bad Religion began writing new material for an album that was planned for release in 2012. During their 2011 tour, frontman Greg Graffin stated that Bad Religion would make "one more album and then all join the navy, do honest work", which led to speculation that they were breaking up, although this turned out not to be the case. The recording sessions took place in July and August 2012 at Joe's House of Compression, a studio owned by Joe Barresi, who produced the album. Singles to promote True North were "Fuck You" and the title track. The latter impacted radio on January 29, 2013.

True North was met with positive reviews upon release, and peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, becoming Bad Religion's first album to crack the top 20 and their highest ever peak on that chart in their career. This album was released exactly eleven years after Bad Religion's twelfth studio album, The Process of Belief, which was their first release with the lineup of Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz, Greg Hetson, Brian Baker, Jay Bentley and Brooks Wackerman. However, this would be the last album to feature both Hetson and Wackerman following their departures from the band in April 2013 and October 2015 respectively.