Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2011
WEDNESDAY, the eighth of July, 1612, in the morning, I perceiued the sunne and the moone both very faire aboue the horizon, as I had done diuers times before. At which time, I purposed to finde out the longitude of that place, by the moones coming to the meridian. Most part of this day I spent about finding of the meridian line; which I did vpon an Hand neere the sea, hanging at the extreames of my meridian line two threeds with plummets at them, instead of an index and sights.
Thursday, the ninth day, very early in the morning, I went on shoare the iland, being a faire morning, and obserued till the Moone came iust vpon the Meridian. At which very instant I obserued the sunne's height and found it 8° 51′ north: in the eleuation of the pole 65° 20′. By the which, working by the doctrine of sphericall triangles, having the three sides giuen (to wit, the complement of the poles eleuation; the complement of the Almecanter; and the complement of the Sunne's declination) to find out the quantitie of the angle at the Pole. I say, by this working, I found it to be foure of the clocke, 17 minutes, and 24 seconds. Which when I had done, I found by mine Ephemerides that the Moone came to the Meridian at London that morning at foure of the clocke, 25 minutes, 34 seconds: which 17 minutes 24 seconds, substracted from 25.34, leaveth 8.10 of time for the difference of longitude betwixt the meridian of London (for which the Ephemerides was made) and the Meridian passing by this place in Groenland.
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