Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude

"So, surely it's...

B.) ...Chicago!" (longitude: about 88 degrees west)
That would have been some trip - across the Atlantic, up the St. Lawrence River, through the Great Lakes - but it's not correct, anyway. Remember, it's noon on the boat (the sun is directly overhead), 4:40 p.m. in Greenwich, and the Earth rotates from west to east 15 degrees each hour or 5 degrees every 20 minutes.

So, by your powers of deductive reasoning, you find yourself to actually be at...

D.) ...Cape Cod! (longitude: about 70 degrees west)
Greenwich lies about 70 degrees east of Cape Cod. If the Earth rotates from west to east at 15 degrees per hour, it's high noon on the Cape about four hours and forty minutes later than in Greenwich.

See if you can navigate your way to the correct answer in next week's NOVA Challenge.