Meaning of LONGITUDE
| Pronunciation: | | 'lânji`tood
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | [n] an imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth passing through the north and south poles at right angles to the equator; "all points on the same meridian have the same longitude" |
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| | Synonyms: | | line of longitude, meridian |
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| | See Also: | | date line, dateline, great circle, International Date Line, magnetic meridian, observer's meridian, prime meridian | |
| Products Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | |  Longitude
In this title the author sets the stage by recounting the difficulties early navigators had in determining their exact longitude. After the loss of many ships and human lives, Parliament in 1714 offered a rich prize for a practical way to measure longitude at sea. John Harrison, an apparently self-taught English clockmaker undertook the task. Over a period of 40 years, he developed four increasingly precise chronometers capable of holding accurate time over a long sea voyage. Comparing the chronometer`s time to the local sun time, a navigator could quickly measure the longitude with high precision. With the support of King George III, the clockmaker eventually prevailed and was awarded the prize. more details ... |
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| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | \Lon"gi*tude\, n. [F., fr. L. longitudo, fr. longus
long.]
1. Length; measure or distance along the longest line; --
distinguished from breadth or thickness; as, the longitude
of a room; rare now, except in a humorous sense. --Sir H.
Wotton.
The longitude of their cloaks. --Sir. W.
Scott.
Mine [shadow] spindling into longitude immense.
--Cowper.
2. (Geog.) The arc or portion of the equator intersected
between the meridian of a given place and the meridian of
some other place from which longitude is reckoned, as from
Greenwich, England, or sometimes from the capital of a
country, as from Washington or Paris. The longitude of a
place is expressed either in degrees or in time; as, that
of New York is 74[deg] or 4 h. 56 min. west of Greenwich.
3. (Astron.) The distance in degrees, reckoned from the
vernal equinox, on the ecliptic, to a circle at right
angles to the ecliptic passing through the heavenly body
whose longitude is designated; as, the longitude of
Capella is 79[deg].
{Geocentric longitude} (Astron.), the longitude of a heavenly
body as seen from the earth.
{Heliocentric longitude}, the longitude of a heavenly body,
as seen from the sun's center.
{Longitude stars}, certain stars whose position is known, and
the data in regard to which are used in observations for
finding the longitude, as by lunar distances.
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| Thesaurus Terms |
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| | Related Terms: | | abscissa, aeronautical chart, altitude, Antarctic Zone, aphelion, apogee, Arctic Circle, Arctic Zone, astronomical chart, astronomical longitude, atlas, autumnal equinox, azimuth, azimuthal equidistant projection, azimuthal projection, Cartesian coordinates, cartographer, cartography, celestial chart, celestial equator, celestial globe, celestial longitude, celestial meridian, chart, chorographer, chorography, circle, climate, climatic chart, clime, colures, conic projection, contour line, contour map, coordinates, cylindrical coordinates, cylindrical projection, declination, distance, ecliptic, equator, equator coordinates, equinoctial, equinoctial circle, equinoctial colure, equinox, extension, extent, Frigid Zones, galactic longitude, general reference map, geocentric longitude, geodetic longitude, globe, gnomonic projection, graphic scale, great circle, grid line, hachure, heliocentric longitude, heliographic chart, horse latitudes, hydrographic chart, index, infinity, isoline, Lambert conformal projection, latitude, layer tint, legend, length, lengthiness, linear measures, long time, longitude in arc, longness, map, map maker, map projection, mapper, measure, Mercator projection, meridian, mileage, Miller projection, orbit, ordinate, overall length, parallel, perigee, perihelion, period, perpetuity, photogrammetrist, photogrammetry, photomap, phototopography, physical map, polar coordinates, political map, polyconic projection, prime meridian, projection, reach, relief map, representative fraction, right ascension, road map, roaring forties, scale, sinusoidal projection, small circle, solstitial colure, span, special map, stretch, subtropics, terrain map, terrestrial globe, the line, thematic map, topographer, topographic chart, topography, Torrid Zone, trajectory, transportation map, tropic, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, tropics, Variable Zones, vernal equinox, weather chart, weather map, yardage, zodiac, zone |
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