In “Four Points of the Compass,” Jerry Brotton explores the disorienting, dizzying history of our relationship to direction. By Ian Volner Ian Volner writes about architecture, design and urbanism.

On Earth, the magnetic field of our planet points a compass north, but in space, things are a bit more complicated. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

In times like these, it can be hard to know which way is up. But it’s always been a subject of debate: For the 16th-century cartographer Juan de la Cosa, the top of the map was west, in the direction ...

On Thursday, designer Matt Webb unveiled a new iPhone app called Galactic Compass, which always points to the center of the Milky Way galaxy—no matter where Earth is positioned on our journey through ...

While most compasses have a needle that points north, the Truest North Compass is different. Its main needle always points to a location of your choice, while its secondary needle shows the distance ...