While determining latitude was relatively easy for ancient mariners (by measuring the angle of the sun or the North Star), finding longitude was once the greatest scientific challenge in history.
She told him the story she never wrote down. Years ago, she had been the navigator on the Seeker , a ship lost for three months in a gray Atlantic. The captain had grown mad from thirst and uncertainty. Each day, he would stand on the deck and shout, “We are nowhere!” longitude meridians
, this is the line where the calendar date changes. It zigzags to avoid splitting countries into two different days. Facebook +4 Comparison: Longitude vs. Latitude Feature Longitude (Meridians) Latitude (Parallels) Direction Vertical (North to South) Horizontal (East to West) Measures Distance East or West Distance North or South 0° Reference Prime Meridian (Greenwich) Equator Max Degree 180° East / 180° West 90° North / 90° South Shape Semi-circles that converge Parallel circles that never meet Would you like to see how to While determining latitude was relatively easy for ancient