Calculated My Longitude Using The Sun

[Republic DC-9]

This was a totally useless, yet very satisfying experiment.

I always idly wondered how old sailing ships knew where they were, and after a chance reading of Dava Sobel’s “Longitude” book I learned that for a much of history they didn’t.

Long story short, this led me to chart the exact time of the sun’s highest point (solar noon) at my location today using a shadow and multiple pencil marks on paper, looking up solar noon at the Prime Meridian in England today, and doing some math to determine that yes my yard is just to the side of 88 degrees West, just like the map and my iPhone say I am, within a few miles.  I mean, I believed I was here, but calculating it myself using the sun was strangely reassuring and fun!

I’d love to hear about similar pointless experiments! :)

[secondcor521]

In my college physics class we measured both the acceleration due to gravity and the speed of light.  They also taught us how to do error bars on our measurements.  Our results matched everyone else's within the margin of error.  It's very cool to know in person that light really goes that fast (300km/h or whatever the number is).  It also makes me feel a tiny bit in touch with folks trying to measure the Hubble Constant or the mass of the electron or whatever.  They're doing a far more sophisticated job of it, but I can see the similarities.

[Republic DC-9]

In my college physics class we measured both the acceleration due to gravity and the speed of light.  They also taught us how to do error bars on our measurements.  Our results matched everyone else's within the margin of error.  It's very cool to know in person that light really goes that fast (300km/h or whatever the number is).  It also makes me feel a tiny bit in touch with folks trying to measure the Hubble Constant or the mass of the electron or whatever.  They're doing a far more sophisticated job of it, but I can see the similarities.

Very cool, great example!

I was a business major, but studied then tutored Astronomy in college and loved it - seeing Saturn’s rings, tiny whorls o various shapes on time exposed slides that were distant galaxies.

It did (and does) have a spooky way of teaching one just how insignificant and small we really are.  Perhaps that’s why I liked today’s little experiment so much - it’s like I now understand and feel more connected to the (relatively speaking) comfort of our own little planet and local star we orbit through simple math and accurate clocks and shadow observations.

I’m sure there are millions of things to observe and learn, a good incentive to FIRE I guess.

[RWD]

It's very cool to know in person that light really goes that fast (300km/h or whatever the number is).

I think it might be a tad faster than that. ;)

[secondcor521]

It's very cool to know in person that light really goes that fast (300km/h or whatever the number is).

I think it might be a tad faster than that. ;)

Ah, good point.  About 60 x 60 faster I think. ;)

Anyway, it's fast, but it's cool to be able to know that it's not instantaneous like we first thought a long time ago.