Successful long-distance navigation depends on knowing latitude and
longitude, and the determination of longitude depends on knowing
the exact time at some fixed point on the earth's surface. Since
Newton it had been hoped that a method based on accurate prediction
of the moon's orbit would give such a time. Building on the work of
Euler, Thomas Mayer and others, the astronomer and mathematician
Nevil Maskelyne (1732-1811) was able to devise such a method and
yearly publication of the Nautical Almanac and Astronomical
Ephemeris placed it in the hands of every ship's captain. First
published in 1767 and reissued here in the revised third edition of
1802, the present work provided the necessary tables and
instructions. The development of rugged and accurate chronometers
eventually displaced Maskelyne's method, but navigators continued
to make use of it for many decades. This edition of the tables
notably formed part of the library of the Beagle on Darwin's famous
voyage.
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