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Mystery Class Update: March 26, 1999
Today's Report Includes:
- You're On Your Way!
- Lost Without Longitude!
- This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Times
- CLUES From Your Mystery Friends
You're On Your Way!
Last week each Mystery Class provided a single clue about the GMT sunrise time in order to help you estimate the approximate longitude of their location. Now all you need to know is the latitude of each place and you're there!
**Special thanks to all 10 secret Mystery Sites around the world (shhh, you know who you are), who have been hard at work writing clues for you! We have included their next set of clues below along with the weekly sunrise/sunset data.
Remember, more clues like these will be provided throughout the month of April.
These clues will help you try to guess each Mystery Class location by the April
30 deadline. Good luck to you all!!
Lost Without Longitude!
"During the great ages of exploration, 'the longitude problem' was the gravest of scientific challenges. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at seas as soon as they lost sight of land. Ships ran aground on rocky shores, those traveling well-known routes were easy prey to pirates.
"In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. (The prize was worth several million dollars in today's currency.) The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Issac Newton--had mapped the heavens, in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at seas, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on..." Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" By Dava Sobel, Penguin Books, 1995.
If you enjoyed learning how to use GMT to determine approximate longitude last week, you will really enjoy learning about John Harrison, an English clockmaker, who solved the "Longitude Problem" by developing a clock that would keep precise time at sea. With that clock, sailors could know what time it was on board and at home when a single event took place on board (i.e. when the sun reached its highest point in the sky). And by knowing the difference in hours and minutes between the two times, they could then calculate their longitude, much like you did last week with the GMT times.
You can learn more about this important scientific discovery:
- In the book: "Longitude: The True Story
of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time", by Dava Sobel (Penquin Books 1995)
- NOVA Online: Longitude
and Navigation information including Teacher's Guide, resources, secrets of ancient
navigators and more!
- NOVA video: "Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude" (call 1-800-255-9424).
This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Times
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Mrs. Berger's 5th Grade Class |
Here's today's data:
Journey North Mystery Class
Sunrise/Sunset Data
Data For: Monday, March 22, 1999
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Mystery Class |
Sunrise |
Sunset |
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# 1 |
06:26 |
18:32 |
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# 2 |
07:23 |
19:48 |
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# 3 |
06:50 |
18:56 |
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# 4 |
06:06 |
18:16 |
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# 5 |
06:46* |
19:11* |
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# 6 |
06:24 |
18:31 |
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# 7 |
05:50 |
18:01 |
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# 8 |
06:11 |
18:16 |
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# 9 |
06:24 |
18:41 |
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# 10 |
06:34 |
18:43 |
* Mystery Class #5 has experienced a one hour adjustment to its times since last week, but remember that this adjustment will NOT affect the photoperiod. Due to daylight savings time starting or ending in the coming weeks, you may see one hour changes at other locations. Again, remember that these changes will not affect the photoperiod. The sun stays up the same amount of time regardless of what time we say it is.
CLUES From Your Mystery Friends:
Mystery Class #:
#1 An ocean lies to our east, and a sea to our west.
#2 Our home is surrounded by sea.
#3 Our country completely encircles another.
#4 The city and country were transformed between World War 1 and World War 2.
#5 It's an old tradition of the early explorers who spent winters here to celebrate
Christmas in midwinter. So, we have Christmas on July 25.
#6 Our country's name means, 'Abode of Peace'.
#7 We have the best weather, it rarely snows and we have sunny days approximately
300 days a year.
#8 We have regions where it rains very often and others where it almost never rains.
#9 Our country has in recent years produced three Nobelmen.
#10 Our economy is based primarily on tourism and agriculture.
The Next Mystery Class Update Will be Posted on April 2, 1999.
Copyright 1999 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
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