Equator vs prime meridian

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Grammarist

The equator is an imaginary line that runs around the middle of the earth dividing it into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Every point on the equator is equidistant from the North Pole and the South Pole. The word equator may also be used to describe a line running around the middle of an object, dividing it into to equal sections. The equator is 0 degrees latitude.

The prime meridian is an imaginary line that runs between the North Pole and the South Pole dividing the earth into the Eastern and Western hemispheres. The prime meridian passes through Greenwich, England, and is designated as 0 degrees longitude.

Examples

It was immediately decapitated, the eye removed and cut open along the equator, and the rear half of the eyeball containing the retina laid in a solution of alum for fixation. (Smithsonian Magazine)

These lie between the equator and the 30-degree north and south latitude lines, and extend to North Africa, southern Texas, and China in the Northern Hemisphere, and northern Chile, Argentina, and South Africa in the Southern Hemisphere. (The Pacific Standard Magazine)

While Guam residents are familiar with and interact with those in the Pacific islands north of the equator, there is much less interaction with the islanders in the South Pacific, due to political affiliation as well as the distances and expense of travel, and modern travel routes which make it more convenient to travel to Asia or North America. (The Guam Daily Post)

From the prime meridian, stars transit at times that depend on the position of the Earth in its orbit — it changes from day to day and year to year. (USA Today)

TNC got creative to get itself onto an actual tuna boat, bopping along five degrees north of the equator and 133 degrees east of the prime meridian, in waters that the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) estimates generates 60% of the world’s tuna catch that amounts to a $7bn annual market. (The Guardian)