Latitude

That level of precision was needed because marine chronometers, as they were known, were a crucial part of calculating longitude.

That's the east to west position, where latitude is north to south.

Latitude is easy, just calculate the angle above the horizon of the North Star.

Longitude is hard because the Earth rotates, and you have to compensate for that.

Precise home time is compared to local time, calculated when the Sun is at the highest point in the sky.

The same study found that rising outdoor temperatures were associated with delayed onset and shorter duration, suggesting that climate change may already be affecting human rest patterns at a population level.

Latitude also affects seasonal variation.

People living closer to the poles, where the difference in day length between winter and summer is more extreme, show larger seasonal swings in rest duration.

In the Arctic, where winter nights can last for weeks, indigenous peoples have traditionally adopted flexible schedules that shift with the seasons.

So I said, well, I'm going to look at my watch and look at the compass on my watch.

And I look at the compass and I see that Atlanta sits on like 33 degrees Latitude, which one is the line? The line, is that the horizontal line? The latitude, I think it's latitude.

But it's 33 degrees.

And it was like...

I squeeze my eyes shut, willing myself to remember facts.

Latitude, date, year, the genus of moss encroaching at my feet.

The details stutter, resolve, fade, replaced by images from memory.

My childhood garden, an arctic fox cub seen once on the ridge, the riot of blue poppies beneath a perfect sun.

That is true too.

True or false? Latitude tells you how far east or west you are.

That is false.

Latitude tells you

how far north or south you are, and longitude tells you how far east or west you are.

All right, one more.

And then later when she said this, it was vertical.

Latitude and longitude, okay? What are we talking about here? The horizon, what are we saying?

Vertical content becomes horizontal content and vice versa.

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