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Science

William Seger

(11,192 posts)

3. The tricky part is staying on the same latitude

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Sun Sep 17, 2023, 08:39 PM

Sep 2023

Even if they had a very accurate way to determine due west, sailing due west would not ensure that they stayed on the same latitude. We still don't know exactly how they managed that, but presumably they had some way to measure the height of the noon sun or Polaris within one degree or so, because being more than one degree off would miss Greenland by more than 50 miles.

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Highlight:

Legendary Viking Sunstones Did Exist: Viking Sagas Were More Truthful Than We Realized [View all] Judi Lynn Sep 2023 OP

I wonder if a Viking sun stone has ever been found? nt mitch96 Sep 2023 #1

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The tricky part is staying on the same latitude William Seger Sep 2023 #3

I saw a facinating program about seafaring navigation mitch96 Sep 2023 #4

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