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Thomas Jefferson’s Observations for Calculating the Latitude of Monticello, 30 January–4 February 1816
Observations for Calculating the Latitude of Monticello
| 1816. | Jan. 30 | Jan. 31. | Feb. 3 | Feb. 4. | |
| Observed altitude error of instrumt |
68–28–30 | 68–56– 0 | 70–39–30 | ☉’s semidiam. here & hereafter |
70–39–30 |
| true observd alt. | |||||
| − refrn + parallax | |||||
| true alt. of ☉’s center | |||||
| ☉’s decln Greenwich | |||||
| − Monticello | |||||
| true height of Equator | |||||
| Zenith dist. = Lat. | |||||
| pocket sextant1 | 68–24–30. | 68–23–30 | 70–39– 0 |
MS (MHi); filed with TJ’s Weather Memorandum Book, 1802–16; written entirely in TJ’s hand on one side of a single sheet of paper, forming a grid with four rows and six columns.
1. TJ repeated these headings in the second row, but he left the remainder of the last three rows blank.
Index Entries
- astronomy; and calculations of Monticello’s latitude search
- Jefferson, Thomas; Writings; Observations for Calculating the Latitude of Monticello search
- latitude; calculations for Monticello search
- Monticello (TJ’s estate); latitude of search
- scientific instruments; sextants search
- sextant; TJ uses search
- sun; and calculation of latitude search