The Prime Meridian

[Webb]

How the Prime Meridian Changed the World

Some 250 years ago, a British astronomer published the first of a series of guidebooks that would ultimately establish Greenwich, England, as the world's zero-degree longitude location, the "prime meridian."

I didn't really go to Harvard. I went to Florida State.

[Fozzer]

..and who is that young Lad, standing astride the Prime Meridian?... ...>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_meridian

Paul....Born near the Greenwich Observatory (Borough of Lambeth) in 1934... ...!

[C]

Was Greenwich part of London by then Foz?

London, centre of the earth. Something the Romans didn't get patent pending on first!

[C]

Was Greenwich part of London by then Foz?

London, centre of the earth. Something the Romans didn't get patent pending on first!

[Fozzer]

Was Greenwich part of London by then Foz?

London, centre of the earth. Something the Romans didn't get patent pending on first!

Greenwich...>>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich

I used to spend some time playing in Greenwich Park, as a toddler, before the Germans started bombing us in 1940!

Paul....A bit of a Cockney Lad!... ...!

[Zaphod]

Fozz.
I bet you also played on the cannons on the banks of the Thames outside the Tower of London like I did. I used to pretend I was sinking the pleasure boats as they sailed passed. Great times with my Mum and Dad when I was small.
I don't think they allow that any more. Health and Safety.

Funny old World.

Zaph...Bermondsey boy.

[C]

I spent the first 18 years of my life just on the outside of the M25 (well, after it'd been built that is!).

[Webb]

Latitude (North/South) is a no-brainer to determine.

But longitude (East/West) eluded navigators for centuries. You weren't always at Greenwich with a handsome young man to point the way - you might be in the middle of an ocean.

Until 1737, when the chronometer was invented.

A marine chronometer is a clock that is precise and accurate enough to be used as a portable time standard; it can therefore be used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation. When first developed in the 18th century, it was a major technical achievement, as accurate knowledge of the time over a long sea voyage is necessary for navigation, lacking electronic or communications aids. The first true chronometer was the life work of one man, John Harrison, spanning 31 years of persistent experimentation and testing that revolutionized naval (and later aerial) navigation and enabling the Age of Discovery and Colonialism to accelerate ...

[Fozzer]

I am always fascinated by these little gems of Webb information, which always persuades me to "Google" for further details!... ....>>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_chronometer

After years of navigating by maps, compass, and the position of the Sun and Stars in my earthly progress on my motor cars and motorcycles, it is only VERY recently that I have come to recognise the benefits of Global Navigation Systems, and the recent purchase of my very first "Satnav", attached to the handlebars of my Motorcycle!

...mind you....I still carry my paper maps and compass with me on my travels...for confirmation!... ...!

Paul.... ...!

[ViperPilot]

John Harrison... the ORIGINAL "Time Lord". For a truly entertaining and poignant telling of this epic story, I lead you to the following links...

The BBC production of Longitude, based on Dava Sobel's book Longitude - True Story Of A Lone Genius Who Solved The Greatest Scientific Problem Of His Time, starring Michael Gambon and Jeremy Irons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dso7ATlSk

And another telling, from the PBS series NOVA, narrated by Richard Dreyfuss:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NENPdT4LASw