The Longtitude Challenge

The Longitude Challenge:

Anyone living in the eighteenth century would have known that ?the longitude problem? was a scientific dilemma and had been for a long time. Without the ability to measure longitude, it was difficult for sailors to navigate. The problem was so immense that prizes were offered for the first person to solve the problem.

There were several competitors to solve ?the longitude problem,? including Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Christiaan Huygens, Jean Dominique Cassini, and Edmond Halley. Finally two reasonable methods were presented: the Lunar-Distance method and the Chronometer method. Once and for all John Harrison?s marine chronometer solved ?the longitude problem.?

Galileo first observed the moons in 1610 and 1612. He constructed charts of their movements. His observations were so accurate that he could predict their positions for the next several months. In 1616 Galileo proposed to the Spanish Court a way to measure time. It could be calculated at any point on Earth, using the moons of Jupiter. His proposal was taken a lot more seriously by Holland rather than Spain. Interest was lost in Galileo?s method soon after he died.

In 1714 the matter of finding the longitude at sea, was brought up to the House of Commons by many of the captains of Her Majesty's