Re: [Paddlewise] Longitude and astronomy

From: Robert Livingston <bearboat2_at_comcast.net>
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2010 23:22:46 -0700
If you interest has been peaked by this discussion, I would recommend  
a popular and well-written book on the topic of Longitude.


Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest  
Scientific Problem of His Time




The English government put up a good deal of money to try and get a  
solution. The competition was between clock makers ( an accurate clock  
useable on a ship solves the problem) the approaches using lunar   
measurements.

Ultimately, the clock approach won. Obtaining the lunar measurements  
was an exacting challenge. Wikipedia has  summary discussion.
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Received on Thu Jul 29 2010 - 23:22:55 PDT

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