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 actually find
yourself to be near...
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.