NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Francis Upchurch
Date: 2016 Nov 8, 01:14 -0800
A lot depends on weather in our misty, moisty island!
The forecast not very good for the next few days.
If dry and clear, a great day out:
London Eye, then catch tourist boat down river to Greenwich as the Georgian kings would have done. Get there well before noon GMT to catch meridian passage while standing across the Zero longitude meridian line, with 1 foot in the west, the other in the east.Great fun. Photograph same.Also the time ball sometimes still drops. Imagine the hundreds of tall ships out in the Thames checking their chronometers by the falling ball.
Next Harrison's clocks, H1 still whirling and ticking after over 2 hundred years. H4 beautiful but mute and still.
Also visit the astronomical rooms and wonder how Flamsteed, Halley, Maskelyne , Newton et al managed it all with such basic equipment and mostly cloudy skies!
Lots of early sextants, quadrants etc. Could spend days there. Great Architecture ,Chrispher Wren etc
The beautiful clipper ship Cutty Sark is close by. Recently renovated after major fire damage.One of the most wonderful objects built by man, (says I).
Have fun.
Francis
