GEOG-120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: 90Th Meridian West, Great Circle, History Of Longitude
Document Summary
Imaginary vertical lines drawn on a globe running north to south. Also known as meridians which means midday in latin. The prime meridian is the central longitude that divides the western and eastern. Result of intersecting a sphere with a vertical plane passing through the center of the earth. A longitude must exit through the poles, therefore all longitude must converge at the poles. Every longitude is half of a great circle, therefore all longitudes are of the same length. Until 1764, it was not clear how exactly to number the longitudes of the world. Longitude act of 1740 offered a prize of roughly 5 million dollars to anyone that could solve the longitude problem by accurately describing the longitude problem. 1764 a technician john harrison succeeded at creating the chronometer and the ability to locate and map longitude began. International median conference held in washington d. c.
