East
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East is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and at right angles to north and south.
By convention, the right side of a terrestrial (ordinary) map is east. On the contrary, the left side of a star chart (a map of the skies) is east. (This is because we look upwards to the sky and downwards on the earth - a change of perspective.)
To go east using a compass for navigation, set a bearing or azimuth of 090°.
East is the direction from which the sun rises at the equinox, and therefore the direction in which the Earth rotates about its axis. Another consequence is that it is the preferred direction of space launches, because of the saving of delta-v.
Moving continuously east is following a circle of latitude, which, except in the case of the equator, is not a great circle.
Whenever there is a rotational motion, the four directions can be defined. When one side of the plane of motion is taken as north, then observed from north, the anticlockwise direction is east, considering north as "up".
"The East" also often refers to Eastern countries. When used in this sense, it could, depending on context, refer to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, or even all of Asia. See also: Eastern, Eastern philosophy, Near East, Far East, Levant, Orient
"The East" is also used to refer to the Eastern United States. See also: East Coast
In Mumbai city, East refers to the part of a suburb to the east of the railway line. (See Mumbai suburban railway)
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