Finding Longitude

The rotation of the Earth means that unless you know the time at 0º longitude you cannot work out your own longitude. At sea, with no sight of land, this means that you do not know your east or west position. Not knowing longitude cost many lives and eventually something had to be done.

This is a short account of the problem and how it was solved. There are questions to help define the problem and answer pages to help you.Wikipedia covers this story very well. For a fascinating broader view see the book below, by Richard Dunn and Rebekah Higgitt, which can be found online.
The time pieces and other artefacts are on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Index

1. Longitude. The problem

2. Longitude. The prize

3. Longitude. The Winner