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Title: For vacation, you decide to take a solo boat trip. While contemplating the unive Post by: ppk on May 8, 2012 For vacation, you decide to take a solo boat trip. While contemplating the universe, you lose track of your location. Fortunately, you have some astronomical tables and instruments, as well as a UT clock. You thereby put together the following description of your situation:
? It is the day of the summer solstice. ? The Sun is on your meridian at an altitude of 67.5° in the north. ? The UT clock reads 06:00. a. What is your latitude? How do you know? b. What is your longitude? How do you know? Title: Re: For vacation, you decide to take a solo boat trip. While contemplating the unive Post by: duddy on May 9, 2012 a. You are on the equator. Because it is the summer solstice, the Sun crosses the meridian 23.5° north of the celestial equator. Thus the Sun's meridian altitude of 67.5°N tells you that the celestial equator is passing through your zenith, and hence that you are on the earth's equator.
b. Your longitude is 90°E. The Sun is on your meridian, so it is noon for you. The UT clock reads 06:00, or 6 A.M., so Greenwich is 6 hours behind you. Each hour represents 15° of longitude, so 6 hours means 90°; you are east of Greenwich because your time is ahead. |