Essay On Longitude

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The longitude problem Intro: What is longitude? Longitude are the lines running vertically around the Earth. The lines are defined by meridians, they measure how far east or west and point is. John Harisson, who was a carpenter devoted his life to finding the answer to longitude at sea. In October 1707 a fleet of British warships were returning home from a battle with the French. Even though they could not be exactly sure of their exact positions, they believed they were far of from the Scilly Islands. They were wrong they had run aground and their fleet of ships one by one sank. In 1714 the English Parliament offered a prize of £20 000 to anyone who found how to find out longitude at sea within half a degree or 4 minutes. Nowadays Longitude…show more content…
He then looks up this measurement in the Nautical Almanac and finds out what time this corresponds to in Greenwich. Finally, he calculates his longitude by working out the difference between Greenwich time and his local time at sea. The second method was used by John Harisson it was using time. For every 15 degrees traveled eastwards the local times moves one hour ahead.You have to find the local time at two places on the earth and the time difference between these places determines how far apart the places are in longitude, east or west. A seafarer could calculate time at their location by observing the position of the sun at noon through. sextant. However it was still impossible to find accurate time at the Meridian line without an precise time keeper. Why was it important to find longitude on earth and on sea: Since it was the age of exploration it was essential to know where you were in the vast open sea. It was also crucial for people to know their location to reduce the risk of death which could lead to an economical breakdown for the U.K. Finding Longitude was not only important for the safety is sailors, but it is crucial for the development of sea
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