Smithsonian
  • Navigating
    at Sea
    • Challenges of Sea Navigation
    • Navigating Without a Clock
    • The Longitude Problem
    • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating
    in the Air
    • Challenges of Air Navigation
    • Early Air Navigators
    • Navigation at War
    • Navigate the Skies! Activity
  • Navigating
    in Space
    • Challenges of Space Navigation
    • Reaching for the Moon
    • Navigating in Deep Space
    • Navigate in Space! Activity
  • Satellite Navigation
    • Challenges of Satellite Navigation
    • Reliable Global Navigation
    • Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • Who Uses Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation
    for Everyone
    • Meet a Professional Navigator
    • Personal Navigation Stories
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research
  • Visit the Exhibition

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Time and Navigation
The untold story of getting from here to there.
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  • Navigating at Sea
  • Navigating in the Air
  • Navigating in Space
  • Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation for Everyone
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research Journal
  • Visit the Exhibition
  • Challenges of Sea Navigation
    • Navigation Gone Wrong: A British Fleet is Lost at Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating Without a Clock
    • Early Voyages
    • Dead Reckoning
    • Celestial Navigation
  • The Longitude Problem
    • Cash for Creativity
    • Early Sea Clock Experiments
    • Innovations in England
    • Innovations in France
    • The Chronometer
    • Observing the Skies
    • Navigation Gone Wrong: Wreck of the Arniston
  • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Early Contributions
      • Meet the Clockmaker: William Cranch Bond
      • Meet the Navigator: Eleanor Creesy
    • Wilkes Expedition
      • Meet the Mapmaker: Charles Wilkes
      • Maps and Charts
      • The "Scientifics"
  • Navigate at Sea! Activity

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Map »
Parrots »
Horatio Hale »
Using a Lead Line »
Chart, Florida Panhandle »

The Longitude Problem

Seafaring’s greatest danger was getting lost.

By 1700, finding latitude at sea was routine and fairly accurate.

But finding longitude was mostly guesswork. Astronomers thought the answer to finding longitude lay in observing the skies. Others thought the solution was a good seaworthy clock, but no such clock existed.

After an outpouring of ideas and generations of work, both a good clock and a good sextant for observations were invented. These instruments revolutionized position-finding at sea.

world-map-by-philipp-eckebrecht-1630-g3200-1630-.e3.jpg

World Map
World map by Philipp Eckebrecht, 1630
Credit: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

jn2012-1310.jpg

Sextant
Sextant, made by Jesse Ramsden, last quarter of 18th century.
Credit: National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

230-shipwreck-a16333_f-ol_small-test_rgb.jpg

"Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast," 1667
This painting by Ludolf Backhuysen depicts three Dutch cargo ships.
Credit: Ludolf Backhuysen, Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington
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  • Cash for Creativity »

    European governments offered huge prizes to solve the longitude problem.

  • Early Sea Clock Experiments »

    Finding longitude greatly improved once a portable clock was invented.

  • Innovations in England »

    Clockmaker John Harrison demonstrates a workable timepiece for finding longitude at sea.

  • Innovations in France »

    Finding longitude on land and at sea was a major preoccupation in France.

  • The Chronometer »

    To design and build a standardized seagoing timekeeper took decades.

  • Observing the Skies »

    Finding longitude greatly improved once better angle-measuring instruments and star charts were available.

  • Navigation Gone Wrong: Wreck of the Arniston »

    Sailing without a chronometer proved deadly.

  • Navigating at Sea
    • Challenges of Sea Navigation
    • Navigating Without a Clock
    • The Longitude Problem
      • Cash for Creativity
      • Early Sea Clock Experiments
      • Innovations in England
      • Innovations in France
      • The Chronometer
      • Observing the Skies
      • Navigation Gone Wrong: Wreck of the Arniston
    • The U.S. Goes to Sea
    • Navigate at Sea! Activity
  • Navigating in the Air
    • Challenges of Air Navigation
    • Early Air Navigators
    • Navigation at War
    • Navigate the Skies! Activity
  • Navigating in Space
    • Challenges of Space Navigation
    • Reaching for the Moon
    • Navigating in Deep Space
    • Navigate in Space! Activity
  • Satellite Navigation
    • Challenges of Satellite Navigation
    • Reliable Global Navigation
    • Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • Who Uses Satellite Navigation
  • Navigation for Everyone
    • Meet a Professional Navigator
    • Personal Navigation Stories
  • Timeline of Innovation
  • Artifacts
  • Learning Resources
  • Multimedia Gallery
  • Research
  • Visit the Exhibition
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Sponsors
  • Press
  • Donate
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