![]() ![]() So you could figure out how far away from the equator or the poles. Latitude corresponds both to the sun’s altitude in the sky (at noon) and to the altitude of certain stars (if you are in the Northern Hemisphere, Polaris is a good choice) at night. Latitude was relatively easy-well, easy enough once you dealt with the pitching deck, the storms, and the scurvy. I’m not sure how to describe how lost you could be, out there on the ocean, no longer in sight of shore. In the days-centuries-prior to GPS, you could get lost. ![]() GPS might not be great at giving directions, but that doesn’t mean you’re lost. Thanks to GPS, we can forget that calculating longitude without the help of a network of satellites is difficult and requires great mathematical and engineering expertise. I don’t use it that much personally, because I don’t tend to go anywhere, but I’m sure all this technology I love to use makes use of GPS. ![]()
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