Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude

October 6, 1998
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NOVA - S26 - E1

Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude

In 1714, following a maritime disaster, British Parliament offers £20,000 for the first reliable method of determining longitude on a ship at sea. It's known that longitude can be found by comparing a ship's local time to the time at the port of origin. The challenge is finding a clock—a chronometer—that can keep time at sea, where temperature changes, humidity, gravity and a ship's movement affect accuracy. NOVA chronicles the seventeenth-century journey to determine longitude.

NOVA: Season 26 - 20 Episode s