The Study of Astronomy, adapted to the capacities of youth / In twelve familiar dialogues, between a tutor and his pupil: explaining the general phænomena of the heavenly bodies, the theory of the tides, &c.

by teacher of astronomy John Stedman

Tutor. They are called meridians, because when any of them, as the earth revolves on its axis, is opposite to the sun, it is mid-day or noon along that line. Twenty-four of these lines are usually drawn on the globe to correspond with the twenty-four hours of the day; but you are not to suppose there are no more than twenty-four; for every place that lies ever so little east or west of another place has a different meridian.—To make this clearer to you, we will suppose the upper 12 (Plate III. fig. 1.) to be opposite the sun, it will of course be noon along that line; the next meridian marked 1, being 15 degrees east, will have passed the meridian 1 hour, consequently it will there be one in the afternoon, and so on, according to the order of the figures, till you come to the lower 12, which being the part of the earth turned directly from the sun, it will be midnight on that meridian; on the next meridian, as you proceed round, it will be one in the morning, the next two, and so on till you arrive at the upper twelve, where you set off. So you see there must be a continual succession of day and night. This difference of time between places lying under different meridians is what is called longitude.

Pupil. I think I have heard of a Mr. Harrison, who made a time-keeper for determining the longitude. Shall I trespass at all if I beg a little farther information on this subject?

Tutor. It is my wish at all times to satisfy your curiosity, when I can do it with propriety. I shall therefore comply with your request.—Mr. Harrison’s time-keeper, and those made since by other artists, are so constructed, that the heat and cold of different climates will not affect them; for, all metals are more or less expanded by heat, and contracted by cold; for which reason it is, that a clock or watch made in the usual way will not keep equal time. Now, all that is required of these time-keepers to ascertain the longitude is this: Suppose a captain of a vessel sailing from London to the West Indies, we will say Kingston, in Jamaica. On his passage thither he makes an observation, and finds the sun on the meridian, or that it is twelve o’clock in that situation, when by his time-keeper it is two in the afternoon in London, whence he concludes he is 30 degrees west of London.

Pupil. I must beg you to explain this to me, as I do not understand why two hours of time should be equal to 30 degrees of longitude.

Tutor. You must consider, that as the earth makes a complete revolution on its axis in 24 hours, it must pass over 360 degrees in that time: now, if you divide 360 by 24, the quotient 15, will be the number of degrees passed over in one hour; 30 degrees will be equal to two hours, &c. The difference of time between London and his situation is two hours, consequently the difference of longitude must be 30 degrees: and, it must be west, because the sun had passed the meridian of London; for, as the earth revolves from west by south to east, one place which lies east of another must come first to the meridian or opposite to the sun. Therefore, when longitude is reckoned from London, if the place lie east of that meridian the time will be before; if west, after London.

Pupil. I see it clearly; and as 60 minutes make an hour, if I divide it by 15, the quotient 4 will be the minutes answering to one degree.

Tutor. You are right: and for the same reason, 4 seconds of time are equal to one minute of longitude, which you know is the 60th part of a degree.—Our captain when arrived at Kingston, finds the difference of time between it and London 5 ho. 6 min. 32 sec. Can you tell me the longitude of Kingston?

Pupil. If I bring the hours and minutes to minutes, and divide by 4, the quotient I think will be degrees, will it not?

Tutor. It will: and the seconds of time divided by 4, will be minutes of longitude. Now try if you can do it.

Pupil. Five hours 6 minutes, multiplied by 60 will be 306 minutes, this divided by 4, will give 76 degrees and 2 over, which 2 is half a degree, or 30 minutes: and 32 seconds of time divided by 4, will be 8 minutes of longitude, the sum of which is 76 degrees 38 minutes for the longitude of Kingston.