The history of finding longitude

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The way the system of determining longitude worked, was mariners had to have a clock on board that maintained time accurately.

The on-board clock was set to the time of the prime meridian they were using. For the British, zero degrees longitude passed through Greenwich. For a time, the French had their system but later changed to the British system.

When taking a measurement of longitude, the time on the on-board clock would be read at midday where the mariners were located, as midday was easily ascertained, when there were clear skies. The difference in time between local midday and the time at the prime meridian could then be used to determine the degrees of longitude from the prime meridian.

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