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Time sight is a general method for determining longitude by celestial observations using a chronometer; these observations are reduced by solving the navigational triangle for meridian angle and require known values for altitude, latitude, and declination; the meridian angle is converted to local hour angle and compared with Greenwich hour angle.
John Harrison (3 April [O.S. 24 March] 1693 – 24 March 1776) was an English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, a long-sought-after device for solving the problem of how to calculate longitude while at sea.
The clock would be set to the local time of a starting point whose longitude was known, and the longitude of any other place could be determined by comparing its local time with the clock time: [51] there is a four-minute difference between locally observed noon and clock noon for each degree of longitude east or west of the initial meridian.
Scientifically precise local time varies with longitude: a difference of 15° longitude corresponds to a one-hour difference in local time, due to the differing position in relation to the Sun. Comparing local time to an absolute measure of time allows longitude to be determined. Depending on the era, the absolute time might be obtained from a ...
Knowing Greenwich time and local time, the navigator can work out longitude. [1] Local time can be determined from a sextant observation of the altitude of the Sun or a star. [8] [9] Then the longitude (relative to Greenwich) is readily calculated from the difference between local time and Greenwich Time, at 15 degrees per hour of difference.
C is the Equation of the center value needed to calculate lambda ... latitude = 33.00801 longitude = 35.08794 elevation = 0 print (calc (time (), latitude, longitude ...
The United States Naval Observatory states "the Equation of Time is the difference apparent solar time minus mean solar time", i.e. if the sun is ahead of the clock the sign is positive, and if the clock is ahead of the sun the sign is negative. [6] [7] The equation of time is shown in the upper graph above for a period of slightly more than a ...
A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation.It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and the time at the current location found from observations of celestial bodies.