[time-nuts] Re : Danjon Astrolabe

[Joe McElvenney]

Hi,

   About transits - I like the bit in the film "Longitude" (if I
remember it correctly) were Harrison's son is asked by some worthy
how they get a local time check. The young lad points to the
chimney on a certain house and says that they wait for a
particular star to disappear behind it. Assuming that the
brickwork was vertical enough and that you had good enough
eyesight, it must have been possible to nail it down to the odd
second; averaging over several days (long time-constant) would
have made it even better. Good enough to find the West Indies
anyhow.


   Cheers - Joe