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Knight's Mechanical Encyclopedia (ed. Knight), S. (search)
amping it and using the tangent-screw for this purpose, as the sun's path becomes more nearly horizontal, and slightly rocking the instrument from side to side to insure that it is in a vertical plane at the moment when the sun attains his greatest hight. The reading of the limb at the moment when the sun begins to dip is noted, and a very simple calculation, adding his declination derived from the Nautical Almanac to the true zenith distance obtained by observation, gives the latitude. Meridian altitudes of the moon, a planet, or a fixed star may also be employed for this purpose. Observations for local time are taken when the sun or other object is rising or falling most rapidly; the calculations for this are more complicated. When ascertained, it is compared with the time at Greenwich or other meridian, as indicated by a chronometer on board; the difference of time turned into arc at the rate of four minutes of time to one degree of arc, gives the longitude of the place of