Posts Tagged ‘Naval Observatory’
“Maps are a way of organizing wonder”*…
… and of understanding where places and things actually are. As John Nelson elegantly demonstrates, we sometimes need that remedial help…
If learned early on, a foundationally incorrect view of the world can perpetuate, as students naturally build knowledge in light of a past, incorrect, understanding. Something as basic as our assumptions about the relative locations of Earth’s continents is an interesting, and actually sort of fun, example of how we can get things wrong right off the bat. Ultimately, everything is learned, but some curious geographic errors tend to persist more than others.
So what are some tantalizing locational mistakes that seemingly come pre-installed in American students’ minds that geography teachers wrestle to overcome?
So glad you asked! Here is a cherry-picked handful of examples that we’ll dive into…
- The northiness of Africa
- The northiness of Europe
- The eastiness of South America…
Some common geographic mental misplacements, beautifully illustrated: “Misconceptions,” from @John_M_Nelson @Esri.
See also the companion piece, “Enclaves & Exclaves” and John’s personal blog, “Adventures In Mapping.”
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As we grasp geography, we might recall that it was on this date in 1830 that U. S. Secretary of the Navy John Branch established the Depot of Charts and Instruments, a humble undertaking with an annual budget of $330; its primary function was the restoration, repair, and rating of navigational instruments. But from that seed grew the United States Naval Observatory, a scientific and military facility that produces geopositioning, navigation, and timekeeping data for the United States Navy and the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the U. S., and remains the country’s leading authority for astronomical and timing data for all purposes.
“Mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things”*…
A 3,700-year-old clay tablet has proven that the Babylonians developed trigonometry 1,500 years before the Greeks and were using a sophisticated method of mathematics which could change how we calculate today.
The tablet, known as Plimpton 332, was discovered in the early 1900s in Southern Iraq by the American archaeologist and diplomat Edgar Banks, who was the inspiration for Indiana Jones.
The true meaning of the tablet has eluded experts until now but new research by the University of New South Wales, Australia, has shown it is the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, which was probably used by ancient architects to construct temples, palaces and canals…
More of the remarkable story at “3,700-year-old Babylonian tablet rewrites the history of maths – and shows the Greeks did not develop trigonometry.”
* Henri Poincaré
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As we struggle to remember the difference between a sine and a cosine, we might recall that it was on this date in 1842 that the United States Naval Observatory was authorized by an act of Congress. One of the oldest scientific agencies in the U.S., its primary task was to care for the Navy’s charts, navigational instruments, and chronometers, which were calibrated by timing the transit of stars across the meridian. It’s now probably best known as the home of the “Master Clock“, which provides precise time to the GPS satellite constellation run by the United States Air Force… and for its non-scientific mission: a house located within the Naval Observatory complex serves as the official residence of the Vice President of the United States.
Initially located at Foggy Bottom in the District of Columbia (near the current location of the State Department), the observatory moved in 1893 to its present near Embassy Row.
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