D EP A R TME N T O F CO MMER CE

U . s CO AS T AN D G E O D
. ET I C S U R VE Y
H T I TT M A N
‘ ’

o . . N

Aé TR O N O MY

ER INAT
D ET M
IO N O F IM
T E L O NG IT
UDE
MH
,

L AT
ITU DE AND AZI U T
”

F IF T H E D I TI O N

WI L I Q I AM B O W I E
I n s p e c t or o f G
‘
e od e t i c W o k n d C h i f f t h C m p u t i ng
r a e o e o D i vi s i o n
U . S . Co a s t , a nd G e o de t i c S u fv e y

SP ECIAL PU BL ICAT IO N NO . 14

WASHING TO N
G O V E R NMEN T P R IN T ING O FF IC E
 D EP A R TME N T O F CO MME R CE
U . S . CO AS T AN D G E O D E T I C S U R VE Y
O . H . U SI TT MA N N

SU P E R IN TE N D E NT

ASTR O N O MY

ER INAT
D ET IO N OFM IM
T E L O NG IT
UD E
MH
,

L AT
ITUD E AND AZI U T ,

F IF T H E D ITI O N

WIL L IA M BO WIE
W o k a n d Ch i f o f t h
-

I n s p e c t o r of G e ode ti o Co m p ut i ng i v i s i on
‘

r e e D
U . 8 . Co a s t and G e o d e ti c S ur v e y

SP ECIAL PU BL ICAT IO N NO . 1 4

PR IC E , 65 C E NT S
Sold only b y the Super nten i d ent of D ocum nt Government P rinting O ffic Wa hi ngton D
e s, e, s , . C .

WASH I N G T O N
GO V ER NME N T PR IN T ING O FF IC E
1 91 7
 CO N TE N TS .

PA R T I
.
— D E T E RMI N A T I O N OF T IM E .

T ransit instrument

Theory fthe trans t instrument

O i .

Adj ustments ofthe transit instrument

Transit ob servations
Computati onoftransit ob servations :

U sual method of computing ti me set .

Second method O f computing time set .

Least square methodofcomputing time set w henazimuthstarsare ob served

Complete least sq uare method of computing time set . .

D eterminati on of instrumental constants

D i scussion of errors
O ther methods of determining time .

The vertical circle

Star factors
PA R I I — THE E E RMI A I O O F THE D I FFE RE C E O F O G I
T . D T N T N E OF T O N L N TUD W ST A TI O N S .

I ntroductory .

P rogram and apparatus of the telegraphic m ethod

i
Computati on of d ff erence oflong tude when trans t micrometer is used i i -
.

D scussion of errors, transit mcrometer method

i i .

P rogram wher e no tr ansit m i crometer is used .

Computation ofdifference oflongitude whenno trans t mcromete r is used i i

P ersonal e u ation q
D scussion of errors, key method
i
State ment of costs
L ongitude b y the chronometric method
Computation of l ongitude, chronometr c method i .

i
D scussion of errors, chronometric method .

P A R III — THE E E RMI A I O O F A I

T D T E M E A S O F THE Z E I H
N T N L T TU D BY N N T T E L ESCO P E .

I ntroductory
I nstructions for lat tude or i w k
I nstruments
A dj ustment of instruments
L i at tude ob servat ons i .

Computation of l atitude .

A pparent places
Correct ons i
Comb inat on of results i
I nstrumental constants .

C omputation of m cromete r val ue i

i
Reduct ons for elevation and pole var ation i .

i
D scussion of errors
E conomi cs of l atitude ob servations
T V T D T
P AR I — H E E E RMI A I O O F T E AS RO OMI C A Z IM H O F A I REC
. N T N H T N UT D TI ON .
 CO N T E N T S

PA R T IV —
. THE D E T E RMI N AT I O N OF T HE A S T RO N OMIC AZ IM UT H OF A D I REC T I O N —fi ontd
.

D i recti on method
M ethod of repeti ti ons .

M i crometric method .

D i scussi on of errors
State ment of costs
A z i muth from ti me ob servati ons
C orrecti on for elevati on of mark and vari ati on of the po el .

T ab l e of log L
—
l a
I ndex . .

T ABL E S .

D i urnal ab errati on ( ) x

F or use in computati on of incompl ete transi ts

I ntervals ofl i nes of transi t N o 1 8 frommean line
Wei ghts for incomplete transi ts eye and ear observati ons
.

Wei ghts for incomplete transi ts chronographic observati ons

.
,

.
,

Relati ve wei ghts to transi ts depending on the star s declinati on ’

R efraction .

Sun s paral lax

’
.

Star factors
R el ati ve personal eq uation
Correction to lati tude for di fferential refracti on
'

C orrecti on to lati tude for reducti on to meri di an .

C orrecti onforcurvature ofapparent pathofstarincomputati onofmi crometerval ue

R educti onoflati tude tosea level
C urvature correcti on .

IL L U S T R AT I O N S .

Large portab le transi t ( eq ui pped w i th transi t mi crometer)

B roken tel escope transit
M eri di an telescope
Transit mi cromet r e

Transi t micrometer .

Chronograph
Porti on of chronograph record
Verti cal ci rcle .

N omogram for ob ta ini ng star factors .

A rrangement ofelectri cal connections ’

,
i i i
telegraph c longitude— trans t—m cromete r method
A rrangement ofel ectri cal connecti ons ,
tel egraphi c longi tude key method
— .

S w i tchb oardtelegraph c ong tude

—
i l i
Z enith telescope

O b servatory .

O b servatory
O b serving tent
O b serving tent
T welve inch di recti on theodol i te
-
.

Seven inch repeati ng

-

Four inch theodol i te

-
.

Smal l acetylene signal lamp

Large acetylene si gnal lamp
E i ghty foot si gnal
Wood n pi er used for theodol i te and eni th telescope
-
.

e z

Structure for el evating si gnal lamp over tri angulati on stati on used as mark
Structure for elevating si gnal lamp over triangulati on stati on used as mark
A i muth mark
z .

C i rcumpolar stars .

D iagramshow i ng directi ons to tri angul ati on stati ons and Polari s
 ER INAT
D ET ION OF M TIM
E L O NG ITU D E L AT
,
ITUD E AND , , AZI U T MH .

ByWILLIA M BO WI E ,

mpector ofG eodetic W

I orkand Chiefofthe Compaling D ivision ,
U S
. . Coast andG eodetic Survey .

I NT RO D U C T I O N .

From time d uri ng m any y ears p ublic ati ons h ave b een i ssued d escribi ng the
to tim e
inst rum ents and m eth ods us ed by the Coas t and G eod etic Survey in the d et ermination of tim e ,

l ongit ud e l atit ud e and azimuth The g eneral ai mhas b een to p rovi d e a w ork ing m anual
, ,
.

which w ould s erve as a guid e to the obs erver i nthe fi eld and the c omp ut erin the offic e in c arrying
on the astronomic w ork of the Survey i na sys tem atic m anner The exh austi on of p revi ous .

edi ti on s and the int rod uc ti on of new i n s trum ents and m eth ods h ave m ad e nec ess ary the suc
cessive edi ti on s in each ofwhich m uch has b een rep eated from the p rec eding one
, .

ofthe inst rum ents andm eth ods andw as entitl ed D et ermi n ,
“
The edi ti on ofthe l as t p ublic ati on is now exh aust ed which g ave i none vol um e d escrip ti ons
ati on ofTim e L ongi tud e L atit ud e
,

, , ,

and A zim uth

”
I t w as p ublish ed as App endix N o 7 R ep ort for 1 898 The needs of the
. .
, .

m emb ers of this Survey for a Simi l ar m anu al and requ es ts for it by oth ers m ak e it d esirabl e
,
-

to iss ue the p res ent and fifth editi on .

The subj ec t m att er incl ud es m ost of th at in the f ourth editi on with a numb er of ch anges , ,

h ow ever Some ofthe m os t important ad di ti ons to the p revi ous edi ti on are : The d et erminati on
.

of tim e and l ongit ud e using the transit mic rom eter; the d esc rip ti on of the transit microm eter;
,

d et erminati on of tim e with the vertic al circl e for use in c onnecti on with azimuth observati ons ;
8 d esc rip ti on of the m eth od of obs erving azim uth c oincid ently with h oriz ont al directi ons in
.

primary triang u lation; an ex ampl e ofthe d et erminati on of an azimuth in Al ask a with a t ransit
'

eq uipp ed wi th a t ransit mi crom et er; ex ampl es of the rec ords and c omp ut ati on s in the dif
f erent
cl ass es of w ork as ac tually m ad e at p res ent by the Survey ; and st at em ents of the fi eld c ost
,

ofthe d iff erent cl ass es of w ork A numb er ofnew ill ustrati ons h ave b een add ed
.

The writ er t ak es pl eas ure in ack nowl edg ing h ere his ind ebt ed ness to Mr H C Mitch ell
.

Mr C R D u vall ands everal oth er m emb ers ofthe Comp uting D ivis ionw ho assisted inp rep aring
. . .
,

. . .
,

this edi tion The material is p ri ncip all y the w ork of f ormer Assis t ant C A Sch ott w ho
. . .
,

p rep ared the firs t three editions and of f orm er Assist ant J ohn F H ayf ord who p rep ared the
, .
,

fou rth edition .

I t has not b een d eem ed nec ess ary to i ns ert the d eri vati on of form ul ae exc ept in thefew ,

rare c as es in whi ch s uch d erivati on can not b e f ou nd readily in t extb ooks on ast ronomy F or .

g eneral d evel opm ents the read er is th eref ore referred to Chauvenet s Astronomy to D oolittl e s
’ ’
,

Practic al Astronomy and to Hayford s G eod etic Ast ronomy The l ast m enti oned b ook and
’
, .
-

the f ourth edi ti on of this p ublic ati on app eared ab out the s am e ti me and as th ey w ere by the
s am e auth or it is nat ural th at som e ofthe t ext is id entic al in the tw o Much ofthis p ublic ati on
,

w as c opi ed f rom the f ourth edi ti on wi th out ch ange and s om e p orti ons are nec ess arily id entic al
,

with the c orresp onding p arts of P rof Hayfords t extb ook

’
. .

In additi on to this m anual on geod etic astronomy the Americ an E ph em eris and N autic al ,

Alm anac for the y ear of O b servati on will b e req uired in time and azimuth w ork and the B oss ,

P relim inary G eneral Cat al og ue of6 1 88 s tars t ogeth er wi th the Cap e T abl es by F inl ay inl atit ud e
, , ,

d et ermi nati ons

W
.

I LL I A M BO WI E
W
,

Inspector o fG eodetic ork Chi tfofthe Computing D ivision , .

5
 P A R T I .

D ETE R IN AT M
ION OF T I E M .

G E N E RA L RE MA RK S .

This p art d eals almost exclusively with the p ort abl e t ransit i nst rum ent in its s everal f orms
as us ed in the C oast and G eod etic Su rvey and wh en m ou nt ed in the pl ane of the meridi an for
,

the purp os e ofd et ermining loc al sid ereal t ime fromobs ervati ons oft ransits ofst ars inc onnecti on ,

with an ast ronomic cl ock or chronomet er regul at ed to sid ereal time T he use of this inst rum ent .

wh en mount ed i n the vertic a l pl ane ofa cl os e C ircump ol ar s tar out ofthe m eri di an 1 8 not recom
mend ed on acc ount ofthe greater c ompl exity b oth l nfi eld andoffic e w ork as c omp ared with the ,

usu al meth od h erei n discuss ed esp eci ally wh en one c onsid ers the eas e with whi ch a transit may
,

b e pl ac ed app roximately inthe m eridi an (See p The obs ervati ons are mad e eith er by the
. .

m eth od of eye and ear or by chronograph ic regist rati on The l att er m eth od is us ed exclu
,
.

sively f or all t el eg raphic l ongit ud e w ork and in m aking t im e obs ervati ons for d et ermining the
p eri ods of the p end ul ums in gravity d et ermi n ati ons In usi ng the firs t m eth od the obs erver .

will of c ours e m ark his ow n time; th at is he will pick u p the b eats of the chronomet er and
, , ,

c arry th em f orw ard ment ally up to the time of transit of the st ar which he will estimat e to
.
,

the nearest t enth of a s ec ond In usi ng the s ec ond meth od the c hronograph rec ord will b e
.

p roduc ed in one of tw o w ays : F irs t wh en the obs erver s ees the st ar bis ect ed by a li ne of the
,

di aphragm he will p ress an obs ervi ng key ( b reak circuit ) held in his h and and c ause a record of -

th at inst ant to app ear on the chronograph sh eet ; or s ec ond he will f oll ow the st ar across the , ,

fi eld ofthe tel esc op e with the movabl e wire ofthe t ransit micromet er the st ar b eing c onti nu ously
’
,

b isected as nearly as p ossibl e by the w ire and the rec ord on the chronog raph sh eet will b e m ad e
,

au tom atic ally by the mak e c irc uit devic e of the mic rometer
-
.

D E SCRI PT I ON OF L A RG E P O RT A BL E T RAN SI T .

Several siz es of p ort abl e t ransi ts are us ed in thi s Survey The l arg est and old est ones .
,

m ad e by Trought on ! Simms of L ond on w ere i nt end ed for use exclusively on the t el egraphic
. .
, ,
.

d et erminat ions ofl ongit ud e b ut in 1 888 a slightly s mall er typ e oftransit (d escrib ed b elow ) w as
,

mad e at the Survey offic e and has b een us ed very extensively sinc e th at tim e on the s ame cl ass
,

of w ork as the l arg es t typ e The s mall est t yp e of transit known as the meridian tel esc op e
.
,

( d escrib ed on p . is us ed in the d et ermi nati on of the l oc al tim e need ed whil e obs ervi ng
ast ronomi c azimu ths and l atit ud es and for oth er p urp os es In the h ands of s killful obs ervers
,
.

the i nst ruments us ed for l ongit ud e d et ermi nati ons give results which c omp are f avorably with
the res ul ts ob t ained wi th the much l arg er t ransits us ually empl oy ed at astronomi c obs ervat ori es ,

wh ere Sp eci al d ifficulti es are encou nt ered in c ons eq uenc e of st rains or t emp orary inst ability of
the i nstrument due to revers al ofaxis andthe more s eri ous eff ect offl ex u, re Inc as e ofnec essity .
,

and when an app roximat e d egree of accuracy suffic es any th eod olit e or alt azi muth i nst rument ,

may be c onvert ed t emp orarily int o and us ed as an astronomic transit .

I llustration N o 1 sh ows Transit N o

. one of the s ec ond —siz ed p ort abl e t ransits m ad e
.

in the Survey of fic e in 1 888 I t has a f oc al l ength of 94 cm and a cl ear ap erture of 7 6 mm

. . .

The magni fying p ow er w i th the di agonal ey epi ec e ordinarlyus ed is 1 0 4 di amet ers I t is p rovid ed .

with a c onvenient reversing app arat us by means ofwhich it can b e reversed w i th ou t lif ti ng the
,

1 f ll d
F ora u escr iptionofthi i n s stru ment , see A ppendix 9 , p
R e ort for 1 889 , by E dwi nSmi th A i , ss stant.
 U . S . COA ST AND GEODE T IC SU R VEY SP EC IA L P U BLICA TION N O . 1 4.

tel esc op e by h and The val ue of one divi sion

. mm ) of the s trid ing l evel is 1 35 The . . .

s etti ng circl es are 4 inches in diameter are grad uat ed to 2 0 sp ac es and are read by verni ers to
’
, ,

si ngl e minut es .

Until ab out 1 90 5 this as w ell as the oth er t ransi ts of the Coast and G eod etic Survey w as
, ,

suppli ed with a gl ass di aphragm b ut wi th the ad option of the transit~micrometer the gl ass
, , ,

di aphragms w ere disc ard ed The gl ass d i aphragm c arri es tw oh oriz ont al li nes whi ch are simply to
.

d efine the limits w ithin whi ch all obs ervations sh oul d b e m ad e and 1 3 vertic al lines 1 1 ofwhich , ,

are us ed in m aki ng ti me obs ervati ons with the chronograph and obs erving key and 5 of whi ch

(l ong er th an the others ) are us ed in m aking eye andear obs ervati ons The sh ortest ti me interval .

b etween lines for chronog raphic obs ervati ons is ab out 2 % s econds and for eye and ear obs erva
ti ons ab out 1 0 s ec onds The transit micromet er and its use are d escrib ed b el ow
. .

Transit N o 1 8 is p rovid ed wi th a sub b as e which is firmly s ecured to the supp orting pi er

.
-
.

The t ransit p rop er is s upp ort ed on this sub b as e by three f oot screws At the l eft of the b as e -
.

in the ill ustrati on is sh ow n a p ai r of opp osing screws which s erve to adj ust the instrum ent in
azimuth O ne ofth es e s crews c arri es a grad uat ed h ead which enabl es one to set the i nst rument
.

very nearly i nthe meridi an as s oon as the azi muth error is k now n .

This inst rument mays erve as a typic al ill ustrati on ofthe cl ass ofl arg e p ort abl e transits .

The b rok en t el esc op e transit lik e th at sh own in illus trati on N o 2 has b een us ed with
,
.
,

m ark ed s ucc ess by oth er c ount ri es This i ns trument may als o b e us ed in the d et ermi nati on of
.

l atitud e by the T alc ott meth od This manual can b e us ed wi th eith er typ e ofi ns trument ( b rok en
.

or st raight tel es c op e) .

D E SCRI PT I ON O F M E RI DI AN T E L E SCO P E .

Cert ai n i ns truments are k now n in this Survey as meridi an tel esc op es 1 Th ey are fitt ed .

b oth for time obs ervati ons and for l ati tud e obs ervati ons by the Horreb ow T alc ott meth od -

(see p 1 03 ) and are p rovid ed wi th a f ram e which mayb e f old ed up for c onveni enc e in transp or
I ll us trati on N o 3 sh ows Meridi an T el escop e N o 1 3 which may s erve as an ill ust rati on
.

tation . . .
,

of the typ e ofsm all er i nstrum ents us ed for tim e obs ervati ons in this Survey .

This t el esc op e has a f oc al l ength of 66 cm a cl ear ap ert ure of 5 cm and a m ag nifying .

,
.
,

p ow er of7 2 di amet ers The valu e of one divisi on . mm ) of the striding l evel is ab ou t .

D uri ng ti me obs ervati ons the t el esc op e is rev ers ed by h and ; d uri ng l atitud e obs ervati ons it may
b e revers ed by turni ng the upp er h alf ofthe d oubl e b as e onthe l ow er h alf O ne ofthe tw o s etting .

c ircl es c arri es a d elic at e l evel for use in m aking l atitud e obs ervati ons and the ey epi ec e is fitt ed ,

With a microm et er for m easuring differenc es of z eni th dist ance in additi on to the di aph ragm ,

c arryi ng fix ed vertic al li nes for use in m ak ing time obs ervati ons O n one sid e of the b as e .

(the l eft h and sid e in the illustrati on) is a s low moti onscrew for acc urat e adj ustment in azim uth
- -

THE T RA N SI T MICROM E T E R ..

The t ransi t micromet er is a form ofregis teri ng mi cromet er pl ac ed with its movable wire in
the f oc al pl ane of an astronomic t ransit and at righ t angl es to the directi on of moti on of the
i mag e of the s t ar which is b ei ng obs erved at and near m eridi an transit Cert ai n c ont act p oi nts .

on the mic romet er h ead s erve to mak e an el ect ric c ircuit as th ey p ass a fix ed c ont ac t sp ring thu s ,

c ausi ng to b e rec ord ed up on the chronograph sh eet each s ep arat e instant at w hich the microm
t
e er wi re reach es a p osi ti on c orresp ondi ng to a c ontac t .

The t ransit mic rometer in use on the t ransits ofthis Su rvey is h and d riven and w as d esigned
by M r E G F isch er Chi ef of the I ns trument D i visi on of the Survey and mad e in th at
.

divisi on Much of the f oll ow i ng d esc rip ti on is c opi ed f rom p ag es 458 460 of App end ix N o 8
. .
, ,

—
.
.
,

R ep ort for 1 90 4 entitl ed A t est ft e t ansi t mic rometer The p ag es referred to w ere w ri tten
”
o h r .

by Mr F isch er
,

. .

1 See A ppendi x N 0 . p
7 , R e ort for 1 879 , f
or a
“
D ip i n
escr to ofthe D avid on M idi an I n t um n
s er s r e t.
 N o I.
.

LA R G E P O R TA BLE T R AN SI T I
( EQ U P P E D WI TH T R A N SI T MI C R O MET E R ) .
BR O K EN T ELE SC O P E T R A N SI T .
 No 3
. .

ME R I D I A N T ELESCO P E
.
 D E T E R MINA T ION OF TI M E .

DE SCRI PT IO N OF T H E H AN D DRI V E N T RAN SI T MICROM E T E R MA D E

-

,
FOR CO A ST AN D
G E O D E T IC SURV E Y T RAN SI T N O 2 . .

Before c onsi dering d etails of this mic rom et er th ree p oints w ere d etermi ned up on
the ,

as b eing ess enti al to i ns ure accu rat e and d ecisi ve ac ti on d urabili ty and c onveni enc e in readi ng , ,

the chronograph rec ord m ad e by it .

F i rst it w as d ecid ed th at the m ech anism of the slid e c arryi ng the wi re should b e of the
,

form in whi ch the sc rew is mount ed in b earings at the ex treme ends ofthe b ox or c as e h olding
the slid e the mic rom et er h ead b eing f ast u p on the end of the sc rew p roj ecti ng from the b ox
, .
,

b ec aus e this i ns ures g reat er s tabil ity und er the sid e st ress of the g ears c onnect ing the sc rew
wi th the h andwh eel sh aft th an the form us ually empl oy ed in th eod olit e and oc ul ar mic rom et ers ,

in which the sc rew is f ast ened to the slid e and th erefore t akes p art ofwh at ever pl ay th ere may
b e in the l att er .

Sec ond it w as d ecid ed th at the el ec tric rec ordi ng d evic e of the mic rometer sh ould b e of
,

the m ak e ci rc uit f orm t ransmi tti ng its rec ords to the ch ronog raph which is i n the b reak—ci rcuit
'

, ,

of the ch ronom et er th rough a rel ay This p ermits the use of a st rong cu rrent th rough the
,
.

c ont act p oints ofthe mi c romet er h ead and th erefore a minimum ofp ress ure u p on the l att er by ,

the c ont act sp ring .

Thi rd in ord er th at the mic rometer t ransmit no rec ords exc ep t th os e m ad e wi thin an
,

acc ep ted sp ac e on eith er sid e ofthe l ine of c oll im ati on and f ormi ng the obs ervati ons of the st ar
t ransi ts p rop er an autom atic cu t out must b e p rovid ed
,
-
.

Il lust rations 4 and5 sh ow the mic rom et er with d raw t ub e andeye endofthe t el escop e The .

tel esc op e has a foc al l ength of 1 1 5 cm and an ap ertu re of7 7 mm I t is ofthe st raight typ e of . .

the s ame g eneral f orm as th at sh ow n in ill ust rati on N o 1 ofA pp endix 7 of the R ep ort for 1 898 . .

( I ll ust rati on N o 1 ofthis p ublic ation )

W
. .

The mic rom et er b ox or c as e is 46 mm in l ength and 3 1 mm wid e ithin it and near to . . .

one sid e is m ount ed the mi c romet er sc rew U p on the l atter fits by a th read and cyli nd ric al .
,
.

b earing a rect angul ar fram e formi ng the slid e which is 3 1 mm l ong and 2 3 mm w id e All
, ,
. . .

pl ay or l ost motion b oth of the slid e up on the sc rew and the sc rew in its b earings is t aken
, ,

u p by means of a h elic al sp ring wi thi n the b ox which p ressing f rom the inner end of the b ox
ag ain
, ,

st the slid e and th rough it ag ai nst the sc rew h olds the l atte r firmly ag ains t the p oint of an ,

adj ust abl e ab utting sc rew with out imp ed ing its f ree rot ary m oti on,
U p on the slid e at right .
,

angl es to its l ine ofm oti on is m ount ed the si ngl e spid er th read which is us ed for bis ect ing the
, ,

st ar d uring its p ass ag e ac ross the fi eld I! vo th reads p arallel to the line ofm oti on ab out f our
'
.
, ,

tim e s ec onds ap art and m ount ed ag ainst the i nner su rfac e of the b ox d efine the sp ac e within
, ,

which the obs ervations sh ould b e m ad e A sh ort c omb offive t eeth with dist anc es equ al to one .
,

t urn ofthe sc rew b etw een th em is al so p rovid ed and i ndic ates the f our whol e tu ms ofthe screw
,

wi thin which the obs ervati ons are to b e m ad e The di ameter of the fi eld ofvi ew th rough the .

Ai ry di agonal ey epi ec e which has an equi val ent f oc al l ength of 1 2 mm is s om ething over
,
.
,

24 tu rns of the sc rew th us gi ving a sp ac e of f ully 1 0 tu rns of the sc rew on each sid e of the 4
,

tu rns in the c ent er of the fi eld .

Th at p ortion of the micromet er sc rew whi ch p roj ects th rough the b ox has the mic rom et er
head fit ted up on it and s ecu red in p osition by a cl amp nut The cylind ric al su rfac e of this .

h ead g rad uat ed at the edg e neares t the b ox to 1 0 0 p arts (9 il l ust rati on N o
,
als o c arri es , .

near its opp osit e edge a sc rew th read t of th ree tu rns wi th a pitch of 1 m m and a di ameter
, , .

of 3 2 mm Sunk i nt o the ou ter f ac e of the h ead and fitt ed c onc ent ric ally with it is a thi n
.

m et allic sh ell which has fitt ed up on it a h oll ow cylind er e m ad e ofeb onit e 6 mm l ong and 2 6
, , , , .

mm in di ameter F i ve s trips ofplatinum each mm thick andc orresp onding to the

. .
,
.
,

and di vision p oi nts of the g rad uation 9 are sl ott ed i nt o the edge of the eb onit e , ,

cylind er and s ec ured in such m anner as to m ake m et allic c ont act with the mic rom et er h ead
p rop er and th rough it w ith the sc rew mic romet er b ox t el esc o
,
p e and t el esc op e pivots and the
, , ,

i ron up rights of the transit By rel easi ng the cl amp nut wi thin the eb oni te ri ng the g rad uat ed
.
 U . S . COA ST AND GEODE T IC S R U VEY PEC IAL PU BLICA T IO N NO
S . 1 4.

h ead with its th read t can b e adj ust ed in a rot ary sens e in rel ati on to the th read ofthe sc rew
, , , , , ,

and th eref ore als o to the spid er th read up on the slid e A t the s ame ti me the p ositi on of the .

pl ati num c ont act st rips can b e set to c orresp ond to the z ero of the grad uati on g whi ch l att er , ,

is read by the i nd ex i ill us tration N o 5 , ,

. .

A s mall eb oni t e pl at e p ill ust rati on N o 4 s ecured to the mi cromet er b ox c arri es up on

, ,
.
, ,

its ou t er end mount ed in a s uit abl e metal bl ock the c ont act sp ri ng 8 whi ch ends in a pi ec e
, , , ,

of pl atinum t urned over so as to res t radi al ly up on the eb on i te cylind er The wid th of thi s .

pi ec e of pl atinum is 4 mm and i ts thi ckness th at of the c ont act s tri ps i e .

, mm A ,
. .
, .

s mall screw 0 il lustrati on N o 5 s erves to adj ust the p ress ure of the sp ring up on the cylind er
, ,
.
, .

Ag ainst one end of the mi cromet er b ox is f ast ened a s mall b rack et up on whi ch is c ent ered a ,

s mall w orm wh eel to ill ust rati on N o 4 g earing int o the screw thread t of the micromet er
, ,
.
, , ,

h ead I t has 40 teeth andmoves 1 t ooth for each turn ofthe mi cromet er h ead To this w or
.
, m .

wh eel is f as tened a cup—sh ap ed cylind er r whi ch has cut i nto i ts ri m a notch or d ep ressi on , ,

wi th sl oping ends not visibl e in the ill ustrati ons A s mall st eel pin in the end of the l ever l .
, ,

res ts up on the edg e of thi s cup sh ap ed cylind er The oth er end of the l ever l fitt ed wi th a —
.
, ,

s mall i vory tip p ress es up on the end ofthe c ontact sp ri ng I) which is mount ed up on an eb oni te
W
, , ,

pl at e, and is th erefore i ns ul at ed el ect ri c al ly from the i nst rument hen the s mall s teel pin .

rests up on the edg e of the cup—sh ap ed cyli nd er the i vory tip p ress es the c ont act sp r i ng aw ay
W
,

from the pl atinum tipp ed screw (L h en h ow ever the notch or d ep ressi on c omes b el ow the
-

,
.
, ,

st eel pin the c ontact sp ring I) is free to p ress ag ainst the pl atinum tipp ed screw th us all owi ng
, , ,
-

the fl ow ofan el ec tric c urrent through the c oil ed wi res mand n and the c ont act sp ring 8 The , , ,
.

l ength of the notch is ch os en so as to all ow the ci rcui t to b e closed during four revol uti ons
.

of the mi cromet er h ead

_

As the ends of the notch are s10 ping it will b e s een th at by raising
.
,

or l ow er i ng the pl atinum tipp ed sc rew and c ons eq uently l ow eri ng or raisi ng resp ecti vely the
—
,

st eel pin in the l ever l the ti me d uring whi ch the c urrent can fl ow can b e m ad e to c orresp ond
,

ex actly to th at of f our revoluti ons of the m icrometer h ead But it is als o i mp ort ant th at the .

f our revol uti ons d uri ng whi ch the current can fl ow and rec ord the c ontacts mad e on the eb onit e
cylind er e are th os e di sp os ed symmet ric ally ab out the z ero p ositi on of the mi cromet er whi ch
, , ,

indi c ates the meridi an This is accomplish ed for adj us tments req ui ring correcti ons g reat er th an
.

one t ooth of the w orm wh eel w by removi ng the l att er f rom i ts axi s t urni ng and repl acing i t , ,

with the p rop er t ooth eng aging the screw thread The adj ust ment for amounts l ess th an ,

th at of one t ooth as the mi cromet er is now arrang ed is mad e by l oos ening a c apst an—h ead ed
, ,

screw (hi dd en in the ill ustrati on by the l ever l) and t urning to right O r l ef t the t wo screws 2 th us , ,

m oving the pl at e c arryi ng the l ever Z until the s mal l st eel pin at the end ofl ever l is in p rop er ,

rel ati on to the notch or d ep ressi on in the cup sh ap ed cylind er r I t wi ll b e s een th erefore -

.
,

th at thi s arrang ement p ermi ts of the moti on ofthe spid er thread across the enti re fi eld wi th out
,

trans mi tting rec ords to the chronograph exc ep t d uring the four revol uti ons symmetric al ly ,

disp os ed ab out the li ne of c olli mati on .

Ag ains t the inner f ac e ofthe micromet er h ead is f ast ened a sp ur wh eel 7c ill ustrati on N o 5 , , .

wi th 3 6 t eeth of48 di ametral (inch ) pi tch i nt o which g ears the wh eel f wi th 7 2 t eeth mounted
,

, , ,

on the h andwh eel sh aft d This sh aft is s upp orted by arms f rom the mi cromet er b ox as can
,
.

readil y b e s eenfrom ill ust rati on N o 5 The h andwh eels h ave a di ameter of3 3 mm are 1 1 6 mm . .
.
, .

ap art and eq uidist ant fromthe mi ddl e ofthe t el esc op e all owing ampl e sp ac e for m an
, i p ul ating in ,

eith er p ositi on of the ey epi ec e .

The pitch of the mi cromet er screw is ab out threads per c enti met er or 1 2 3 per inch , .

In the tel esc op e ofTransi t N o 2 the angul ar val ue ofone revolution ofthe screw is .
eq uator i al .

tim e s econds nearly As the g earing of the h andwh eel sh aft to the mi crometer screw is as 2
,
.

to 1 i t f oll ows th at the h ands must p roduc e rot ary m oti on of one revol uti on in ab out 5 for an 5

equ at or i al s t ar .

The adj ust ment for collimati on is m ad e by means of tw o nuts a n ill ust rati on N o 4 u pon , , .

a s mall screw f ast ened to the mi cromet er b ox whi ch in t urn is mounted by d ovet ail s lid es
,

up on a sh ort fl ang ed cylind er y The l att er is fix ed in p ositi on by the screws h whi ch wh en

,
.

l oos ened als o p erm

, ,

i t ofa rotarymotion for adj usting the transit wi re int o the vertic al
'
,

, N eith er .
T R A N SI T MI C R O MET E R .
 D ETE R MI N A T I O N or T I ME . 11

of thes e adj ust ments will distu rb the rath er d eli c ate rel ati ons b etw een the z ero of the transi t
w i re the c ont act b reaks up on the mic rometer head and the w orm wh eel wi th i ts el ec tr
,
i c cut out ,
-

at tach ment .

i p ti on of the eb oni te h ead wi th its five pl atinum c ont act strips

As i ndi c at ed in the d esc r ,

the inst rument i ts elf is us ed as p art of the el ec tri c c ond uct or f orming the t ransi t ci rcuit The .

rel ay of 2 0 ohms resist anc e c onverts the m ak es of the t ransit ci rc ui t into b reaks in the chrono
g raph ci rc ui t From the c ont act sp ri ng b t hrough wi re m c onnec ti on is m ad e w i th an insu
.
, , , ,

l at ed bi nding p ost at the eye end of the t el escop e tub e from which a wi re l eads al ong the t el e ,

sc op e to and i nt o the t el esc op e ax is and wi thin the l att er to an i nsul ated met al cyli nd er pro
j ecting f rom the t ransit pi vot E ach of the w ye b earings of the transi t has f ast ened to i t an
.

ins ul at ed c ontact Sp ring whi ch b eing c onnect ed wi th an i ns ul at ed bindi ng p os t at the foot of

, ,

the ins tru ment es tablish es the ci rc ui t wh eth er the t el esc op e li es in eith er an east or w est p osi
,

ti on Anoth er binding p os t screw ed di rectly i nt o the i ron f oot of the t ransit aff ords a ready
.
, ,

m eans for making the nec ess ary c onnec ti on to b egi n obs ervati ons .

I t is nec ess ary to use b oth hands in ord er to i mp art to the wi re a s teady moti on As .

expl ained ab ove the cut out d evic e al lows only a li m

,
r i t ed p orti on of the fi eld of obs ervati on ,

to b e regist ered by aut om atic all y b reaking the t ransi t ci rc uit whil e the wi re is outsid e the
,

li mi ts I t req ui res four c ompl ete revol uti ons ofthe micromet er h ead to c arry the wi re across the
.

fi eld ofrecord and as th ere are five c ontac t s tri ps on the mi cromet er h ead the compl et e rec ord ,

of the obs ervati on of the transi t of a gi ven s tar c onsists of 2 0 b reaks regist e red on the ch rono
g raph sh eet As the five c ontac t st rips are not equ ally sp ac ed around the h ead of the mi crom
.

et er wh eel i t f oll ows th at the rec ord is in four g roups offi

,
ve obs e rvati ons each This f acilit at es .

the reading of the chronog raph sh eet The t ransi t of an eq uat ori al s tar across the fi eld of
.

rec ord oc cupi es only ab ou t 1 0 s ec onds of tim e a f act whi ch mak es i t p ossibl e to obs erve s tars ,

whi ch are qui te cl os e t og eth er in right asc ensi on .

A dj ustments o f the transit micrometer Before using the t ransi t mi crom et er i t sh ould b e
.
—

c arefully ex amined to see th at th ere is no l oos e pl ay in anyofi ts p arts th at its c ontact s tri ps ,

and cont act sp ring are cl ean and b r i ght and th at the cut out att ach ment p ermi ts the rec ording
,
-

of 2 0 b reaks which are s ym metri c al ab out the m ean p osi ti on of the mi cromet er wire I f a .

symmetric al record is not obt ained the adj ust ment mus t b e mad e as d escrib ed on p ag e 1 0
, ,
.

“
The adj ustment of the mic romet er wire for c ollimati on and vertic al ity are d escribed on
,

pa g e 1 5 und er the h eading Adj us tm ent ofthe t ransit i nstrument

,
”
.

THE CH RON O G RA P H .

sh ows the f orm of chronograph now in use in the Survey The train of
Ill ustrati on N o . 6 .

g ears s een at the right is d ri ven by a f alling w eight I t d ri ves the sp eed g overnor (s een ab ove .

the c as e c ont aining the g ears ) the cyli nd er up on whi ch the rec ord sh eet is w ound and the
, ,

screw which gives the pen c arri ag e a sl ow m oti on p arall el to the axis of the record cylind er
W
.

hen the sp eed g overnor is fi rs t rel eas ed the sp eed c ontinu ally increas es u nt il the g overnor
,

b alls h ave m oved far enough aw ay from the axis ofrevol uti on to c aus e a sm all p roj ection u p on
one of th em to s trik e a sm all b ook This imp act and the eff ect of the fricti on at the b as e of
. .

the w eight att ach ed to the h ook c auses the speedto d ecreas e c ontinual ly until the h ook is rel eas ed
‘

The sp eed th en increas es ag ain until the h ook is eng ag ed d ecreas es u ntil it is rel eas ed and so , ,

on . The t ot al range of vari ati on in the sp eed is h ow ever s urp risingly s mall so sm all th at , , ,

in int erpret ing the rec ord of the ch ronograph the sp eed is assumedt o b e unif orm du ring the
interval s b etw een c hronomet er b reaks The sp eed may b e regul at ed by screw ing or unscrewi ng
.

the m ovabl e w eights which are ab ove the g overnor b alls and att ach ed to the s am e arm This .

m oves th em nearer to or f arther from the axis and th us d ecreas es or increas es the cri tic al sp eed ,

at whi ch the h ook is eng aged To get a c onveni ent record it is d esirabl e to adj ust the sp eed so
.

th at the rec ord cylind er m akes j us t one revol ution per mi nut e with the ordinary arrang em ent
of the t rain of g ears The g ears may als o b e ch ang ed q uickly to anoth er combi nati on whi ch
.

will run the rec ord cylind er at d oubl e sp eed This w ill req uire addi ti onal dri ving w eights . .
 U . S
. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC SU R VEY S PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO .

The chronograph circui t p ass ing through ,

c oil s of the pen m agnet is O p erat ed by a
the ,

battery oftwo dry c ell s ins eries so th at a rel ati vely s trong sp ri ng may b e u sed to d raw the pen
,

arm at ure aw ay from the pen m ag net wh en the ci rc uit is brok en This i ns ures a sh arp l ateral .

m ov em ent of the rec ord ing pen which is att ach ed to the p
,
en arm at ure on the b reaking of the ,

circ uit anda corresp ondingly sh arp offs et or b reak is s ec ured in the h el ix whi ch the pentraces on
,

the d rum .

Wh en obs ervations are m ad e on the lines of a reticl e an obs erving key is pl aced in the ,

chronograph circuit which norm ally keeps the circ uit cl osed and breaks it onl y wh en the key
, ,

is press ed by the ob server as the star is bis ected by each ofthe lines ofthe reticl e
W
.

h en the transit microm et er is us ed the t ransit ci rc uit p assing through the t ransit the
, , ,

microm et er h ead and the c oils of the t ransi t rel ay and op erat ed by tw o dry c ells in series is , ,

c onnec ted wi th the chronograph circuit through the p oi nts ofthe transit rel ay The obs erving .

key and the transit circ ui t with its rel ay may b e reg ard ed as int erch ang eabl e as eith er one ,

may b e j oi ned int o the chronograph circ uit in the pl ac e ofthe other .

The chronom eter circuit is O p erat ed by a singl e dry c ell and p ass es through the c oil s of a ,

rel ay through the p oints ofwhich it is c onnect ed w ith the ch ronograph circuit
,
Breaks in the .

chronom et er circ uit are transmitt ed i nt o b reaks in the chronograph circ uit by m eans of the
ch ronom et er rel ay A c ond ens er sh ould b e pl ac ed in the circ uit ac ross the t ermi nal s of the
.

chronom et er to p revent sp arking and c onseq uent inj ury to the c ont act p oints of the b reak
circ uit wh eel in thechronom et er .

The strength ofthe c urrent the tightness ofthe spri ng which d raws b ack the pen arm at ure
, ,

the dist anc e ofth at ar m at ure f rOm the m ag net c ore and the rang e ofm ovem ent ofthe armat ure ,

m us t all b e adj ust ed rel ati vely to each oth er so th at the pen will furni sh a neat and c ompl ete
rec ord of all the b reaks in the circ uit The d riving w eight m us t b e h eavy enough to overc om e
.

all fricti on and c aus e the g overnor h ook to b e eng ag ed freq uently b ut it must not b e so h eavy
W
,

as to c aus e the h ook to b e c arri ed f orw ard c ontinuously aft er it is onc e eng ag ed h ere a transit .

mi crom et er is us ed and the ch ronograph circuit is b roken by m eans of a rel ay pl aced in the
transit circuit thi s rel ay als o m ust b e adj ust ed to p rod uc e a sh ort neat b reak of the chrono
,

graph circuit .

In O p erati on the chronom et er breaks the ci rc uit aut om atic all y every s ec ond ( or every tw o
s ec onds ) and the pen rec ord s the b reaks up on the m ovi ng rec ord sh eet at eq ual or very nearly
eq ual linear i nt erval s The chronom et er is us ually arrang ed to indic ate the b eginning of each
.

minut e by f ail ing to m ak e a b reak for the fifty ninth s ec ond or if it is a tw o s ec ond chronom et er
-

,
-

by m aking a b reak for the fi fty ni nth s ec ond The h ours and m inut es may b e id en
-
. tifi ed by
wri ti ng up on s om e p oi nt of the rec ord sh eet the c orresp ondi ng read ing of the f ac e of the
chronom et er In l ongit ud e w ork it is not ess enti al to h ave the h ours and minut es on the
.

chronograph sh eet c orresp ond to th os e sh ow n on the f ace of the chronom et er It is c us tom ary .

to m ark on the chronog raph sh eet s uch h ou rs and minutes as will gi ve the cl ock a c orrecti on
ofl ess th an one minu t e which is eq ui val ent to s etting the ch ronom eter to p rod uc e th at readi n
, g .

The rec ord of the ex act tim e of the t ransit of a st ar is obt ained i nthe f oll ow i ng m anner
W here a t ransit microm et er is us ed the s tar is bis ect ed with the wire of the mic rom et er s oonaft er
“
it ent ers the fi eld of Vi ew O f the t el escop e (see p and the obs erver end eavors to k eep the
.

s tar bisect ed as it cross es the fi eld As the wire p ass es the vari ous p ositi ons c orresp ond i ng to
.

cont acts on the microm et er h ead the transi t circuit is aut om atic all y m ad e and t hrough the ,

acti on of a rel ay it aut om atic ally b reaks the chronograph circ uit and p rod uc es a rec ord on the
chronograph sh eet Wh ere an ob servi ng key is used the O bs erver b reaks the chronog raph
.

circ uit directly by p ressi ng the key whi ch he h olds in his h and ; this is d one as the st ar t ransits
each line of the reticl e In each c as e the p osi ti on ofthe addi ti onal break or rec ord on the chro
.

nograph sh eet with referenc e to the rec ord m ad e by the chronom et er indic at es acc urately the
, ,

chronom et er tim e at which it w as m ad e the chronograph b ei ng assumed to run unif ormly

,

b etw een adj acent chro nom eter b reaks (See ill ust rati on N o To read the fracti ons of
. .

sec onds from the ch ronograph sh eet one may use eith er a gl ass sc al e on which c onverg ing lines
m ake it p ossibl e to divid e varying l en g ths of s ec onds i nt o 1 0 eq ual sp ac es or a sm all linear ,
 DE T E R MINA TION OF T I ME . 13

rul e, so divid ed that 1 0 of its sp aces fit cl os ely a s ec ond s i nterval of the chronograph wh en ’
,

the chronograph is m aking ex ac tly one revol uti on per m i n u te Som e of the chronographs now .

i nuse in the Survey are so c ons truct ed th at wh en i n p erf ect adj us tm ent one s ec ond on the
rec ord will b e ex actly 1 cm in l eng th .Such a rec ord mayb e easil y read by using a m eter sc al e
. .

Wh en the linear sc al e d oes not fit the chronograph rec ord ex actly a s atisf act ory reading is
obt ained by a slight shifting of the sc al e to fit the adj ac ent s ec onds m arks as the t ransit rec ords
.

are s ucc essi vely read Th is l inear sc al e is m uch p ref erred to the gl ass sc al e as it enabl es one
.
,

to read the c om pl ete rec ord for a s tar wi th one s etti n g of the sc al e Also by pl acing the 0 .

’
m ark of the sc al e on an even 1 0 sec ond m ark (0 1 0 2 0 etc ) imm edi at ely p rec eding the s tar s
—
, , ,
.

rec o rd not only the frac ti onal p art of the s ec ond may b e read at onc e b ut also the numb er
, ,

of the s ec ond . The beginning of each b reak m ad e by the obs erver and by the chronom et er is
the ex act p oi n t to b e us ed inreading the chronograph rec ord the breakofthe circ ui t b eing sh arp
W
,

and d efini te whil e the m

,
ak e is i nd efinit e h en an obs erving key is us ed and 1 1 b reaks
.

c onsti tute a f ull rec ord for a s t ar the st ar transits are us uall y read from the rec ord sh eet to the
,

nearest h al f tenths
-
of a s ec ond ; wh en a t ransit microm eter is us ed and 2 0 ob ser
vations c onstit ut e the f ull rec ord of a transit the readings are m ad e to the nearest t enth
,

of a s ec ond only In l ongi tud e w ork it is c ust om ary to read the tim e signals to the nearest
.

h und redth of a s ec ond the ch ronog raph th en b ei ng run at d oubl e sp eed

, Th ere will .

occ asi onally b e a slight interf erenc e b etw een the c hronometer and the s tar t ransit rec ord c aus ed
by overl app ing b ut the time of the obs ervati on can usu all y b e id entified and cl os ely esti mat ed
,

by c omp aring the dist anc es b etw een the s ucc essive b reaks .

A c orrec ti on c all ed the contact correction is s om et imes appli ed to the c hronog raph rec ord
, ,

oftransits O bs erved w ith a mic romet er to acc ount for the time req uired for the c ontact sp ri ng to
c ross the c ont act s trip on the h ead ofthe mic romet er In order to ins ure a s atisf act ory rec ord .

the c ontact st rips on the mic romet er are gi ven mat eri al w id th s inc e if th ey w ere red uc ed too ,

much th ere w ould b e an occ asi onal ski pping of a rec ord The micromet er wire travels from a .

different sid e of the i nstru ment for u pp er and l ow er c ulminating s t ars a nd als o b ef ore and ,

aft er revers al ofthe t el esc op e inits wy es so th at the c ont act sp ri ng prod uc es a rec ord s ometi mes
,

f rom one edg e of the c ont act s trip and s ometi mes f rom the oth er Th eoretic al ly the p rop er .
,

redu c ti on w ould b e to c orrect all ob servati ons for one h alf the m ovement of the mic romet er -

wire from the b eginning of the c ont act to its end This may b e meas ured on the mi cromet er .

h ead The micrometer is t urned very sl owly u ntil the armature of a relay in the t ransit circuit
. .

is h eard to mak e the circui t ; the micromet er h ead is th en read The moti on is c ontinued .

until the arm ature sounds t he b reaki ng of the circ uit and the micrometer is read ag ain T he ,
.

d iff erenc e b etw een the two read ings is the movement of the wire in t erms of divisi ons on the
micromet er h ead This may b e red uc ed to ti me wh en the eq uatori al value of the micromet er
.

di vision is known This c orrecti on is al w ays plus s inc e the middl e of the st rip must al w ays
.
,

come und er the c ont act sp ring l at er th an d oes its near edg e But b eing very s mal l and h aving .

nearly the s ame eff ect on all ti me d eterminati ons wi th s imil ar i nst ru ments it is with ou t appre
ciab le eff ect on the obs erved dif ferenc es of l ongi tud e N or is this c orrecti on nec ess ary in time .

d et erminati ons for gravity obs ervati ons with p end ulums I f w e d esignat e the c ont act c orrecti on .

on an equ at ori al st ar for any t ransi t mic rometer as n th en the c ont act c orrecti on for any s t ar ,

is nsec 6 cm 0 wh ere 0 the c olli mati onf ac tor is ob tai ned directly f romthe t abl e on p ag es 62 7 7
, , ,
—
,

or graphic al ly as sh own in ill us trati on N o 9 The equatori al c ontact c orrecti on on transi t

. .

N o 1 8 is
. s ec ond .

TH E O RY O F T H E T RAN SI T IN ST RUM EN T .

The meaning ofthe phras e line ofcollimationus ed in the p rec eding editi onofthis public ati on
( App end ix N O 7 of 1 898) is ad hered to in the p res ent p ubli c ati on
.
,
The line ofcollimation may .

b e d efined as the line through the O p tic al c ent er of the obj ec ti ve and the mi ddl e p oint of the
mean vertic al line of the di ap hrag m or the micromet er wire in its mean p ositi on I t may b e
“
.

c onsid ered sy nonymous wi th the p ointi ng li ne sight line or line of sight The t erm collimation
, ,
.

axis as us ed in this p ublic ati on may b e d efined as the line through the O p tic al c ent er of the
 U . S. COA ST AND GEODE T IC SU R VEY SPEC IA L P U BLICA T ION N O . 14 .

obj ective, and h oriz ontal axis ( axis of rot ation) of the tel esc op e The
p erp endicul ar to the .

line ofcollimation and collimation ax is of a t el esc op e c oincid e only wh en th ere is no error of

c oll imati on in the instru ment .

If a t ransit instrum ent w ere i np erfect adj us tm ent the li ne of c ollimati on of the t el esc op e
would b e at right angl es to the t rans vers e axis u p on whi ch the t el esc op e rot at es and th at ,

t ransvers e axis w ould b e h oriz ontal and in the p rime vertic al Und er th es e circu m .

s t anc es the li ne of c olli m ati on w ould alw ays lie in the meridi an pl ane and l oc al sid ereal ti me ,

at the inst ant wh en a gi venst ar c ross ed the line ofc ollimati onw ould nec ess aril y b e the s ame as the
right asc ensi on of th at s tar The di ff erenc e th en b etw een the chronometer t ime of t ransit of
.

a gi ven s tar ac ross the line of c olli mati on and the ri ght ascension of th at s t ar w ould b e the error
of the ch ronometer on l oc al sid ereal ti me Bef ore obs erving m eridi an t ransits for the d et er
.

mination of tim e the c ondi tions s t ated in the first s ent enc e of this p aragraph are fulfil l ed as
,

nearly as p ossibl e by c aref ul ad j ust ment of the i n st ru ment The time obs ervati ons th em .

s elves and c ert ai n auxili ary ob servations are th en mad e ins uch a manner th at the s mall remain
ing errors of adj ust ment may b e d et ermined and the O bs erved t imes of t ransit are c orrect ed ,

as nearly as may b e to wh at th ey w ould h ave b een had the obs ervati ons b een mad e w i th a
p erfec tly adj ust ed instrument The obs erved chronometer tim e of t ransit of any st ar across
.

the l ine of c olli mati on as thus corrected b ei ng s ub t ract ed from the right asc ensi on of th at st ar
gives the c orrec ti on ( on l oc al sid ereal ti me) of the chronometer used du ring the ob servations .

A D J U ST MEN T S OF T H E T RA N SI T IN ST R U MEN T .

b e supposed th at ob servati ons are ab out to b e c ommenc ed at a new st ati on at whi ch

'
L et it
the pi er and sh elt er for the t ransit h ave b een p rep ared (See p By d aylight mak e the . .

p rep arati ons d escrib ed b el ow for the w ork of the night

‘

-
By w hatever means
. l bl e d et ermine the app roxi mate d irec ti on of the meridi an
. are avai a

and m ark it on the top of the pi er or by an outsid e natu ral or artifici al sig nal P l ac e the .

m ent in su ch p osi ti on th at the t el escop e will swing clos ely in

sub b as e or f ootpl ates of the i ns tr u
-

the meridi an I t is w ell to fix the sub—b as e or f ootpl at es firmly in pl ac e by c ement ing th em

.

to the pi er with pl ast er of P aris wh en a st one c onc ret e or b rick pi er is us ed and by sc rews , , ,

or b ol ts wh en a w ood en pi er is used The meridi an mayb e d etermined wi th s uffici ent accuracy

.

for this p urp os e by means of a c omp ass needl e the magnetic d eclinati on b eing known and ,

all ow ed for A known d irec ti on f rom t ri angul ati on or from p revious azi muth obs ervati ons
.

may b e utiliz ed All th at is req ui red is th at the t el esc op e sh al l b e so nearly in the meridi an
.

th at the final adj ust ment will c ome wi thi n the sc op e of the screws p rovid ed u p on the instru
ment for the azi muth adj ustment .

Set u p the i nstrument and i nsp ect it The pi vot s and wyes of b oth inst ru ment and l evel
.

sh ould b e cl eaned wi th w atch oil which must b e wip ed of f to p revent its acc umul ati ng dust
, .

Th ey sh ould b e c arefully insp ec ted to i nsure th at th ere is no di rt g ummed to th em The l ens .

sh ould b e ex amined occ asi onal ly to see th at it is tigh t i nits c ell I t may b e d ust ed off wi th a .

c amel s h air b rush and wh en nec ess ary may b e cl eaned by rubbing g ently w i th s oft cl ean
’
-

, ,

t iss ue p ap er firs t moist ening the gl ass sligh tly by b reath i ng on it

, .

F ocus the eyepi ece by tu rni ng the tel esc op e u p to the sky and moving the ey epi ec e in
andout u ntil th at p osi ti on is f ound m which the most dis tinc t vi si onis ob t ained ofthe mic rometer
wire If any ex ternal obj ects are visibl e through the ey epi ec e in addi ti on to the mic romet er
.

wire s een p roj ec ted ag ainst a u niform b ackground ( the sky for ex ampl e) the eye will att empt , ,

in spit e of its owner to f ocus u p on th ose obj ec ts as w ell as up on the mic rometer wire and the
,

obj ect ofthe adj ust ment namely to s ecure a f oc us corresp ondi ng to a mini mumst rain up on the
, ,

ey e will b e d ef eated to a c ert ain ext ent

,
.

F ocus the obj ective by directing the t elesc op e to s ome w ell defi ned obj ect not l ess th an a -

mile aw ay and ch anging the dist anc e of the obj ective f rom the pl ane in which the mi crometer
,

w ire moves until th ere I s no app arent ch ang e ofrel ati ve p osi ti on ( or p arall ax ) ofthe mic romet er
D

w ire and the i mag e of the obj ect wh en the eye is s hift ed ab out the f ront of the ey epi ec e The .
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC S R U VEY PECIAL P U BLICA T ION NO
S . 1 4.

middl e vertic al line ofthe di aphragm R evers e the i ns trument in its w y es and ag ai n ob sei ve
.
.

the s am e dis t ant obj ect I f after revers al the wire c overs the obj ect no adj ustm ent is
.

need ed . I f an adj ustment is nec ess ary it is m ad e by m ovi ng the di aphragm h alfw ay b ack to
the obj ect by m eans of the adj usti ng screws whi ch h old it in pl ac e A s ec ond test sh ould b e .

m ad e to sh ow wh eth er the d es ired c ondition has b een obt ained

W
.

h erever p rac tic abl e the adj ustm ent for c oll i mati on sh ould b e m ad e at sid ereal focus
,

on a terres tr i al obj ect at l eas t 1 mil e dis tant or on the cross wires of a th eod olit e or c ollim at or
,

whi ch has p revi ously b een adj ust ed to sid ereal f oc us set up j ust in front ofthe t el esc op e ofthe ,

transit I f necess ary the lines of the th eod olit e are art ifici ally ill umi nat ed O cc asi onally if
. .
,

neith er a dist ant obj ect nor a th eod olit e is avail abl e for m aking the c oll im ati on adj ustm ent ,

a near obj ect m ay b e us ed for the pu rp os e In this c as e h ow ever c ollim ati on error may exis t
.
, ,

wh en the tel esc op e is insid ereal f oc us I f s uch error is not l arge the m eth od ofc omp
. ut ati ons of ,

the ob servati ons wil l elim inat e its eff ect from the res ul ts A rapid and c areful obs erver may .

s om etim es b e abl e to m ak e this collimati on adj ustm ent on a sl ow m ovi ng cl os e circump ol ar -

s t ar In so d oing he w ill h ave to es ti m

. at e the am ount the st ar m oves whil e he is reversing h is
instrum ent and s ecuring the s ec ond p ointing N o att emp t sh ould b e m ad e to adj ust the .

c oll im ation error to z ero I f it is al ready l ess th an say

. s ec ond of tim e it sh ould not b e
ch ang ed for exp eri enc e has sh own th at freq uent adj ustment of an inst rum ent c aus es l oos eness
,

in the screws and the m ovabl e p arts .

To test a fi nder circle whi ch is s upp os ed to read z eni th dist anc es p oi nt up on s om e obj ect , ,

pl aci ng the im ag e ofthe obj ect midw ay b etw een the tw o h oriz ont al lines ( gu id e l ines ) ; b ring the
b ubbl e of the fi nd er circl e l evel to the c enter and read the circl e N ext revers e the t el esc op e .

and p oint ag ai n on the s ame obj ect ; b ri n g the b ubbl e to the c ent er and read the s am e find er
circl e as b ef ore The m ean of the tw o readings is the true z enith di st anc e of the obj ec t and
.
,

th ei r h alf diff erenc e is the ind ex error ofthe circl e The i nd ex error may b e mad e z ero by set .

ti ng the ci rcl e to read the t rue z enith dis t anc e p ointing on the obj ect and b ringing the verni er
, ,

b ubbl e to the c ent er wi th the l evel adj usting screw At ni ght this adj ust ment may b e m ad e .

by k eeping a k nown st ar b etw een the h oriz ont al l ines as it transits the m eridi an Whil e the .

t el esc op e rem ains cl amp ed in this p osi ti on set the fi nd er circl e to read the known z enith dis
t anc e ofthe st ar and b ring the bubbl e to the middl e p osi ti on of the t ub e as b ef ore A quick .

test wh en th ere are tw o fi nd er circl es is to set th em at the s am e angl e and see if the bubbl es
com e to the c ent er for the s am e p osi ti on ofthe t el esc op e .

A dj ust the transi t micrometer so th at it will gi ve 2 0 rec ords whi ch are symm et ric al ab ou t
the m ean p ositi on of the mic romet er wire i pti on of this adj ustment see p ag e 1 0
F or a d esc r . .

The p rec ed ing adj ust ments cannot alw ays b e mad e in the ord ernam ed as for inst anc e wh en , , ,

a dist ant mark c an not b e s een in the meridi an nor need th ey all b e m ad e at every st ati on The
, .

ob server must ex amine and c orrect th em of ten enough to mak e c ert ai n th at the errors are
alw ays wi thin all ow abl e li mi ts .

The azimuth adj ustment In the evening b ef ore the regul ar obs ervati ons are c omm enc ed
—
, ,

it will b e nec ess ary to pu t the t el esc op e more accu rat ely in the meri di an I f the chronomet er .

c orrecti on is onl y known app roxi mately say wi thi n one or tw o minut es set the t el escop e for
, ,

s ome b right st ar which is ab out to transit wi thin say of the z enith O bs erve the ch ro , .

nometer ti me of t ransit of the s tar This st ar b eing nearly in the z eni th its time of transit
.
,

will b e b ut li ttl e aff ect ed by the azimu th error of the i nstru m ent 1 The c olli mati on and l evel .

errors h aving p revi ously b een mad e s mall b y adj us tment the right asc ensi on of this st ar minus ,

its chronomet er ti me of t ransit will b e a cl os e app roximati on to the chronomet er c orrecti on .

N ow set the t el esc op e for s ome st ar ofl arg e d eclinati on ( sl ow movi ng ) which is ab out to transit -

w ell to the northw ard of the z eni th Compu t e its chronomet er ti me of t ransit us ing the chro
.
,

nometer c orrec ti on j us t f ou nd As th at ti me app roach es bis ect the st ar wi th the mic romet er
.

1 Toavoid w i ting fo ta l o toth z ni h th hronom t

a rs rs c se e e t ec e e rcorrect on i
mayal so b e esti mated cl osely by comp aring ob servati ons oftw ostars
not v ry di tant fromth z ni th on no h ndon ou h and h
e s e e , e rt a es t ,
t ese at the same ti me wil l gi ve some id eaorthe amount and direction of the azi muth
 DE TE R M I NA T ION OF T I ME . 17

wire in its mean p ositi on or wi th the mi ddl e vertic al line ofthe di aphragmandk eep it bi sect ed ,

f ollowing the m oti on of the st ar in azi muth by the sl ow m oti on screws p rovid ed for th at pur -

p os e until the chronomet er i ndic at es th at the s tar is on the meridi an

,
.

The adj ust ment may b e t est ed by rep eating the p roc ess ; th at is by ob tai ning a cl os er ,

app roximati on to the chronomet er error by obs erving anoth er s t ar near the z en i th and th en
c omp aring the c omp uted chronomet er ti me of transi t of a sl ow moving north ern s t ar wi th -

the obs erved ch ronomet er ti me oft ransit I f the st ar t ransits app arently too l ate the obj ective
.
-

is too far w est ( if the s t ar is ab ove the p ol e) and vic e vers a The sl ow moti on az imu th screw
,
.
-

may th en b e us ed to reduc e the azi muth eI ror This p roc ess of reduci ng the azimuth error .

will b e much more rapid and c ert ai n if i nst ead ofsi mply gu essing at the movement which must
,

b e gi ven the azi muth sc rew one c omp utes roughl y wh at f rac ti on of a turn must b e gi ven to it
,
.

This may b e d one by compu ting the az imuth error of the inst ru ment roughly by the meth od
i ndic at ed on p ag e 3 5 h aving p revi ously d etermined the valu e of one t urn of the screw 1
,
.

I f from p revi ous observati ons the chronometer c orrecti on is know nwi thi n say five s ec onds , , ,

the ab ove p roc ess ofapp roximati onmayb e c ommenc ed by us ing a north ern st ar at onc e, inst ead
offirst obs erving a z eni th s tar as i ndic at ed ab ove
O r the chronom
.

,
eter c orrecti on b eing known app roxi mat ely and the inst ru ment b eing f ur ,

nished wi th a screw or gradu at ed arc wi th which a s mall h oriz ont al angl e may b e measured ,

the firs t app rox i mati on to the meridi an may b e mad e by obs ervi ng up on P ol aris c omp ut ing the ,

azimuth app roximat ely by use of t abl es of azi mu th ofP ol aris at diff erent h our angl es th en by
means of the s crew or graduat ed are swinging the inst ru ment into the meridi an The t abl es
ref erred to are gi ven inApp endix N o 1 0 of the R ep ort for 1 89 5 in . P rincip al F acts of the
“ .

E arth s Mag netis m etc ( a p ubli c ati on of the Coast and G eod etic Survey ) or in the Am eri
,
’

W
.
, , ,

can E ph emeris and N autic al Al manac h ere s aving of ti me is an i mp ortant c onsid erati on
'

.
,

the l att er meth od has the ad vant ag e th at P ol aris may b e f ou nd in d aylight wh en the sun is ,

not too high by s etting the t el esc op e at the c ompu t ed altitud e and moving it sl owly in azi
,

muth near the meridi an I t is ad vi sabl e to use a h ack chronometer and the eye and ear
.

meth od i nmaki ng the azi mu th adj ustments the chronograph b ei n g u nnec ess ary for thi s pur
,

p ose even wh en avail abl e

,
.

O B SE R V IN G L I ST .

x mpl e ofthe lis t ofs t ars s el ect ed for tim e ob servatl ons at st ati ons of
The f oll owing is an e a

a l ow er l atitu d e th an The s ec ond ti me set sh own in thi s list is c omp ut ed on p ag e 2 6 and ,

enters int o the l ongi tud e d etermi nati on sh own on p ag e 84 E ach set c onsists of tw o h alf s ets .

of six st ars each s el ect ed i n acc ord anc e wi th the instru cti ons sh own on p ag e 80
,
Such a lis t .

p rep ared In easily l egibl e figu res sh ould b e p ost ed In the obs ervat ory
, .

1 Some ofthe mer idian t l p

e esco es carr y a mall g rad uat d ar on h doubl b a
s e e t e e se ofthe ra f me whi h m yb
c a euse d fo ma u ing th
r e s r es mall angl e
h q uir d
,

ere re e

2
 U . S
. COA ST AN D GEODE T IC SU R VEY SPE CIAL PU BLICA TION N O . 1 4.

Star li st for Key Wt es ,

F la .

33 1

Fo m256 k now n a “
r Co t and G od ti Su v y Longi tud R o d nd Comput ion"
s as e i a b ook ontaining all th dif
e c r e f r nt t rm u ed
e ec r a at s c e ee e s s
inob ving nd omputn i g ti m nd l ongi tud x p t fo m3 hown on p 20
, , ,
ser a c ea e, e ce r 4s
1 B l in r A tronomi h J h bu h
. .
,
er sc es a r c
1 A m i an E ph m i and Naut l A l mana
e s .

erc e ers ie a c.

DI REC T I O N S F O R O B SE R V IN G .

E verything b eing in read iness and the instrum ent c ompl et ely adj ust ed set the t el e
sc op e for the firs t st ar I t is not ad vi s abl e to use the h oriz ont al axis cl amp d uring ob ser
.

vations, for its acti on mayh ave a slight t end ency to rais e one end ofthe axis See to it , l oading .

one end if nec ess ary , th at the c ent er ofgravity ofthe t el esc op e is at its h oriz ont al axis , and th en
d ep end u p on the fricti on at the pivots to k eep the t el escop e in wh at ever p osition it is pl ac ed
W
.

atch the chrono m et er 1

so as to know wh ento exp ect the st ar to app ear in the fi eld ofvi ew ofthe

tel esc op e Wh en the st ar ent ers the fi eld , b ring it b etw een the h oriz ontal lines ofthe di aphragm ,
.

if it is not already there, by t apping the t el esc op e lightly .

If mi crom
a t ransit is us d eterc onsists s imply in bis ecting the st ar s
e the p roc ess ofobs erving ’

im ag e with the mi crometer wire s oon aft er it app ears and in k eeping it bis ect ed as it m oves
ac ross the f i eld ofthe t el esc op e The rec ord is m ad e aut om atic ally by the c ontact of a sp ring
.

with c ert ain metal strips on the micromet er h ead A cu t out device allow s only 1 0 su ch con .
-

t acts on ei th er sid e of the mean p osi tion of the microm et er wire to regist er on the ch ronog raph .

The obs erver l earns by exp eri enc e at wh at p art of the fi eld the wire b egins to regis t er and he
sh ould end eavor to k eep the st ar bis ect ed s everal s ec onds b efore it reach es th at p oint Si mil arly .
,

he knows wh en the rec ord is c ompl et e and he can c eas e obs ervi ng a p articul ar s tar and set for ,

the next one on his obs erving lis t .

I f an inst rument with a di aphragm is b eing used in c onnec ti on wi th a chronograph the ,

p roc ess of obs erving the transit of a st ar across a line of the di aphragm c onsis ts in w aiting ,

obs erving key in h and u ntil the inst ant wh en the st ar is app arently bis ect ed by the line and
,

th en p ressing the key as s oon as p ossibl e th ereaft er The time rec ord thus mad e on the chrono .

1 Wh nachronograph is b ing u d
e m y k p the chronometer which is connecte d wi th the chronograph p rotected as carefully as
e se it is custo ar to ee
possible fromrapid changes oftemperature and fromj ars D uring the observations it is not usually removed fromits p rotecting box b ut instead
,

anex trach ronometer ( someti mes call ed a h ack ch ronometer) is used at the in
.

ment
,

stru .
 DE TE R MI NA T ION OF TI ME . 19

graph will alw ays follow the event by a time int erval known as p ers onal equ ati on which , ,

d ep ends mainly on the rapidi ty of the acti on of the nerves and b rain of the obs erver .

I t may occ ur to a new obs erver to att emp t to m ak e this t ime int erval zero by anticip ating
the b is ecti on of the st ar s imag e and this he may s ucc eed in d oing
’
,
He may even m ake the .

p ers onal equ ati onneg ative The accumul at ed exp eri enc e of m any O bs ervers h ow ever is th at
.
, ,

it is b ett er to O bs erve in the manner firs t indic at ed and h ave a l arg e and c onst ant p ers onal
equati on rath er th an to redu c e this p ers onal eq uati on to a s mall b ut at the s ame tim e rath er
,

vari able q uantity The m eth od of O bs ervi ng wi th a t ransi t micromet er p rac tic ally eliminat es
.

the p ers onal equ ati on from the time obs ervati ons In oth er meth ods it may b e eli minat ed
.

from the res ul ts by sp eci al O bs ervations or by p rograms of O bs ervi ng esp eci ally d evis ed for
,

th at p urp os e (See p . .

At ab out the middle of the obs ervati ons which are to c onstit ut e a set the tel esc op e sh ould
b e revers ed so th at the effects O f the error of c oll imati on and i neq uality of pivots up on the
,

app arent t imes of t ransi t may b e revers ed in sign Three or f our read ings ofthe st riding l evel
.
,

in each ofits p ositi ons ( direct andrevers ed ) sh ould b e t ak en d uring each h alf set To eliminate .
,

in p art at l east the ef fec ts ofi rregu l ari ti es in the figu re of the p ivots up on the d et erminati on O f
,

the inclination of the axis it is d esirabl e to t ak e the l evel readings with the t el esc op e inclined
,

at the vari ous p rac tic abl e angl es at which st ars are obs erved and to mak e h alf of th emw i th the ,

obj ective to the northw ard and h alf with the obj ec tive s ou thw ard G reat c are sh ould b e .

t ak en to avoid u nequal h eat ing of the two ends of the s trid ing l evel The l evel readings may .

b e ch eck ed and p ossibl e errors oft en d et ect ed by the f act th at the bu bbl e l eng th sh ould be
c onst ant excep t for the eff ect of ch ang e of t emp erat ure ( the bubbl e sh ort ens wi th ris e of tem
perature) and in obs erving and c omp uting th is sh ould b e k ep t in mind A very sh ort l ength .

of b ubbl e sh ould not b e us ed on acc ou nt of inc reas ed t end ency to stick and ex treme l ength ,

sh ould b e avoid ed b ec aus e of d ang er ofru nn ing of f the grad uation Iii usi ng the stridi n g l evel ‘

it is imp ort ant th at the b ubbl e b e given time to c ome to res t b efore read ing .

The onl y diff erenc e b etw een the eye and ear meth od ofO bs erving ti me and the chronograph
and key m eth od j ust d escrib ed is in the p roc ess of O bs erving and rec ording the ti mes of t ransi t
of the st ar im ag e across the s ep arat e lines of the di ap hrag m .

B efore using the eye and ear m eth od the O bserver must fi rst l earn to p ick up the b eat of a
chronomet er and to c arry it even wh ile p aying att ention to oth er matt ers To p ick up the .

b eat ofa chronom et er first l ook at s ome s ec ond s m ark tw o or m ore s ec onds ah ead ofthe s ec ond
,
’

h and F ix the numb er of th at s ec ond in mind as the s ec ond h and app roach es it N am e it
. .

ex actly with the tick at which the s ec ond h and reach es it Th en k eeping the rhythm O f the
.
,

chronomet er b eat c ount the s ec onds and h alf s ec onds (aloud in a whisp er or m ent ally) alw ays
, , , ,

k eeping the c ount ex actly with the tick ofthe chronom et er In c ou nting it will b e found easier
“
.

to keep the rhythm if the names of the nu merals are elid ed in such a w ay as to l eave b ut a
s ingl e st acc at o syll able in each The h alf s ec ond b eat sh ould b e m ark ed b y the word h alf
.
-
”
,

th us one h alf tw o h alf three

—
twenty h alf tw enty one h alf twenty two and so
W
- -

, , , , , , , ,

on 1. ith p ractice an obs erver can c arry the c ou nt of the beat for an ind efinit e p eri od
,

with out l ooking at the chronomet er f ace if he can h ear the tick I f he b ecom es exp ert he will .
,

e ven b e abl e to c arry the c ount f or a h alf m inut e or more d uring w hich he has not even h eard
the tick . The chronomet er sh ould ofc ou rs e b e pl aced wh ere it can b e s een and h eard by the
, ,

obs erver w ith as little ef fort as p ossible .

To observe the tim e of t ransit of a st ar across a gi ven line the obs erver first picks u p the
b eat of the chronom et er as the st ar app roach es the line At the l ast tick of the chronomet er .

occu rri ng b ef ore the t ransit he not es m ent ally the numb er ofthe tick and als o c aref ull y obs erves ,

the app arent dist anc e of the st ar from the line At the next tick the st ar is on the oth er sid e
.

ofthe line and the obs erver not es ag ai n the app arent dist anc e ofthe st ar from the l ine By a .

ment al c omp arison ofthes e twodistances he estim at es fifths ofthe time interval b etween the tw o
ticks ofthe ch ronom et er and obt ains his estim at e ofthe t ime of t r ansit to the nearest t enth of
a s ec ond T h ough the ment al p roc ess es involved mays eem diffi c ult at first p ractic e s oonm akes
.
,

th em easy An exp erienc ed obs erver us ing this p roc ess is abl e to esti mat e the time of t ransit
.

1A nother method of ten used is to count only to 1 0 ( th us using only word s ofone syll abl ) and to glance at the chronometer af ter the ob r
e se ~

h w th po i tioninth minut
vation to s o e s e e .
 U . S . COA ST AND GEODE TIC S RV U EY SP ECIA L P UBLICA TION N O . 1 4.

of a st ar s im age across a line of the di aph ragm with a p rob abl e error of ab out t oi
’
I t is s

c onduci ve to accuracy for the observer to acq uire the h abit of d ecid ing d efinit ely with out ,

h es it ation up on the second and t enth as s oon as the event is c ompl et e Hesit ation in this
,
.

m att er is lik ely to c aus e i nacc urac y .

E XAM PL E O F REC O RD AN D P A R T O F THE C OM P U T A T I O N S .

There are sh ownon p ag es 1 8 2 0 2 2 ex ampl es ofthe list ofst ars andthe original t ransit level
,
—

readings mad e in the obs ervat ory at the tim e of the obs ervati ons a set of t im e O bs ervati ons ,

as read from the chronog raph sheet and the c omp ut ati on of a — t (right asc ension minus the
,

chronom et er tim e of t rans it ) for each st ar The c omput ation of AT (the m ean c orrecti on to .

the ch ronomet er) is sh own on p ag e 2 6 Th es e c omput ations are for the s ec ond set of st ars
.

given on p ag e 1 8 .

Th es e obs ervations were mad e und er the G eneral I nst ructions for L ongit ud e D et erm ina
tions with the Transit Micromet er which are given on p age 7 9 of th is p ublic ation
-

,
.

L ongitude record
F orm34
.

Wst D ate Instmment Transi t N o Ob J Hill ]

.

[Station, K ey e .
,
F eb . 1 4 1 90 7
,
.
,
. 2 . server, . S
. .

Set II

L eve s l

58 7 . C lampor b and E ,

61 3 . 19 7 . z G eminor .

fl C anis M in .

( 1 C ani s M in .

BG eminor .

7: G em inor .

g b G em i nor .

l l
1 div of eve scale Chronom t 1 824 e er

Pi i q li y
. .

vot ne ua t
R mark
e Cabl wa u d dir t wi thout r p at r b tw
s: e s se ec , e e e s, e een Mi amaand K eyWest .
 DE T E R M INA T ION OF TI M E .

While the foll owing meth od of c omp uting w as d evised for observati ons with the t ransit
m ic rom et er it is not limit ed in its use tos uch obs ervati ons The st ar l ist for which O bs erva
,
.

tions and c omput ati ons are sh own on the following p ag es c ould h ave b een obs erved wi th a
key and the c omp ut at ion m ad e in the s ame manner as the one which f oll ows The onl y d iffer .

enc e is th at had the obs ervati ons b een m ad e with a k ey not so many rec ords w ould h ave b een

obt ai ned and the O bs ervati ons w oul d h ave b een s ubj ect to a l arg e obs ervati on error c all ed ,
“
p ersonal equation ( See p . .

E xpl anati on of the f orm ul ae and m eth ods us ed in this c omput ation f ollows the ex ampl es
of the rec ord and c omp ut ation .

F orm
[St ti on K y W t D at
a e es e, F eb 1 4, 1 907 I nstrument tran i
s t N o 2, wi th tran i t mi
s cro meter Ob erver,
s J S Hill d J
R ecor er, S Hill
Sid al
. . . . . . . . . .
, , .

nometer. ere

cG e minor .
CG eminor . 63 A urigae

C omput tionofl v l
a e e constant: Mean N + 4 20 .

Su s m

Sum Su m 953 6. Sum Su m 499 8

. Su m 420 3 . Sum 1 22 1 9 .

Mean 36 73
. 46 05
. 24. 99 21 02. 01 1 0
.

See note b l ow t bl on p 1 8
e a e

ionfo ate i n gligibl hi

. .

fR , correct rr , s e e in t s tfl e set.
 U . S. COA ST AN D G E O D E TIC U VEY
S R PECIAL P U BLICA T ION N O
S . 1 4.

Fo m
r

( S a i n K yW
t to e est. D ate, F eb . 1 4, 1 90 7 m i
Instr u ent, trans t N o 2 , wi th r n i t m
t a s icro meter Ob server, J S Hill . R ecor d er, 1 . S . Hill .

Sid l
. . .
, . .

nometer , erea

Staru G minor
e . l
f C ni
a s Min . 7: G minor
e . G minor
e

Cl mp
a : E E
L vle e :

Comp u ionof l v l
tat e e constant: Mean N + 5 . 25

Su ms

Su m Su m 1 0 48 7 . Sum 240 9 . Sum 47 2 9 . Su m 336 2 . Sum 689 1 .

Mean 52 44
. 1 2 04
. 23 64.
3 4 46
.

See note e o b l w tabl onp 1 8

e
ti on f
o at i n gligibl hi ti m
. .

1 R , correc rr e, s e e in t s e set .

CO RREC T I ON FOR INC L INA T I ON OF A XI S .

If the
h oriz ont al axis of the t el esc op e is sligh tly incli ned to the h oriz on and the t el esc ope
is oth erwis e in p erfect adj us tment the line of c oll i mation will wh en the t el esc op e is rot at ed
, ,

ab out its h oriz ont al axis d esc rib e a pl ane which pass es th rough the north and s outh p oints of
,

the h oriz on and mak es an angl e with the meridi an pl ane eq ual to the incl inati on of the axis to
the h oriz on I f the east ern end of the axis is too high the t ransit s of all the St ars ab ove the
.
,

pol e ( app arently moving w estw ard ) w ill b e obs erved too l at e and the t ransits of all sub polars ,

w ill b e obs erved too early and it is th eref ore nec ess ary to c orrect the obs erved t imes of t ransit
,

by m eans ofthe readings of the st riding l evel t aking int o acc ount the ineq ualit yof the p ivots , ,

if appreci abl e .

'

L et it) and e b e the read ings of the west and east ends resp ectively of the b ubbl e of the , ,

striding l evel for a gi ven p osi tion ofthe t el escope axis L et w ’and e’ b e the corresp ond ing w est .

and east readings aft er the l evel is reversed the t el esc op e axis rem aining as it w as L et d b e
, .

the val ue ofa divisi on ofthe l evel in s ec onds ofarc Th enfor 6 the app arent i nclinati on ofthe .
,
 U . S
. COA ST AND GEO D E T I C SU R VE Y P CI AL PU BLICA T ION NO
S E . 14
.

I N C OM PL E T E T RAN SI T S WI T H T RA N SI T MICRO ME T E R -
.

m
Ifthe transit of a st ar obs erved w ith the t ransit i cromet er is inc ompl et e, onl y the obse r

vations whi ch are sy mmetrical with reg ard to the m ean p osi ti on of the mi crom et er wire are
us ed and th os e for which the symm etric al obs ervati ons are l acking are rej ect ed
“
_

(See G eneral .

Ins tructi ons for L ongit ud e D et erminati ons , p I nc ompl et e t ransits by oth er m eth ods of
.

obs erving are utili z ed by a m eth od ofreduc ti on sh ow n on p ag e 3 2 .

CO RREC T I O N FOR RA T E .

Ifthe chronom et er rat e is not z ero, the chronomet er c orrecti on ch anges d uring the p rogress
ofthe tim e set To reduc e each obs erved time oftransi t acros s the m ean line to wh at it w ould
.

h ave b een had the rat e b een z ero ( and the c orrecti on eq ual to th at whi ch act uall y exist ed at
the mean ep och ofthe set) apply the f oll ow ing c orrec ti on:

R :
0“ To) Th

in which t is the ch ronom et er tim e oftransi t ofa s tar, To is the m ean ep och ofthe time set, th at

is , the m ean of all the chronom et er times of transit , and rh is the h ourly rat e ofthe chronom et er
on sid ereal time, wh en l osing and wh en g aining The q uantity (t T o) is exp ress ed in
.

h ours The ab ove is the c orrec ti on as appli ed to the obs erved time oftransit ofthe st ar; app lied
.

to a — t, the sign is revers ed .

The c orrecti on for rat e may b e l ook ed up on as a refinem ent whi ch is not al w ays ess enti al .

I f a t im e set has p erfect symm et ry of arrangement , the eff ect ofintrod ucing a rate c orrecti on
i nt o the c omput ati on wi ll b e sh own only in the residu als , as it will h ave no eff ect on the com
puted cl ock c orrecti on I f the d aily rat e of the chronom et er is l ess th an five s ec onds , it can b e
.

ignored in the c omp ut ati on of all time s ets exc ept th os e in whi ch one of the h alf s ets c ont ains
m any m ore or l ess st ars th an the oth er, or in which one of the h alf s ets ext ends over a very
mu ch l onger p eri od oftim e th anthe oth er Inal l c as es wh ere the rat e is great er th anfive s ec onds
.

per day it should b e c onsid ered , and it sh ould b e omitt ed onl y after a p reliminary t est sh ows its
eff ect on the chronomet er c orrecti on to b e negligibl e .

C O RRE C T I O N FOR DI UR N A L A B E RR AT I O N .

The eff ect ofthe annual ab errati on due to the m oti on ofthe earth in its orbit is t aken i nto
acc ount in c omp ut ing app arent st ar pl ac es and need not b e c onsid ered h ere .

The c orrecti on for diurnal ab errati on to b e applied to an obs erved tim e of t ransit a
.
“
cross
the m eridi an is
’
[ca cos sec 6

This c orrecti on may b e obt ained easily by the g raphic al d evic e sh own in ill ust rati on N o 9 .

and d esc ri b ed on p ag e 6 1 b ut it is al so gi ven in the f oll owi ng t abl e

, I t is minus for all st ars .

obs erved at upp er c ulmi nati on and plus for st ars obs erved at l ower c ul mi nati on .

Table ofdiurnal aberration ( K) .

D li nation= 6
ec
 DE TE R MINA TION or TI ME . 25

D E RI V A T I O N OF ( a — t) .

The c orrecti on for diurnal ab errati on i nclinati on of axis and rat e (if c onsid ered ) b eing
, ,

appli ed to the obs erved tim e of transit across the m ean p osi ti on of the m icrom eter wire ( or
m eanl ine ofthe di aphragm ) as sh owninthe c omp ut ati ononp ag es 2 1 — 22 the res ult is t anapproxi , ,

m at e t im e oi transit across the m eri di an The app arent right asc ensi on at the tim e ofobs erva
.

ti on is t ak en from s om e st ar c at al ogue giving app arent pl ac es s uch as the Ameri c an E ph em eris

, ,

and N autic al Alm anac or the B erl iner Ast ronomisch es J ahrb uch ( p referably the f orm er) The
d ifferenc e b etw een t and the right asc ension ( r of the st ar at the ti m e of obs ervati on is ( a — t)
, , , .

an app roximat e c orrecti on to the ch ronom eter ti me .

In t aki ng right asc ensi ons f rom the st ar c at al ogue it is nec ess ary to int erp ol at e for the
l ongi tud e of the ob server and to c onsid er s ec ond d ifferences wh en th ey aff ect the res ul t by as
,

m uch as a h und red th of a s ec ond .

THE C O LL I MA T I O N C O RRE C T I ON .

If i nst rument is oth erwi s e in p erfect adj us tment b ut has a s mall error i ncollimati on
the , ,

the mic rometer wi re inits m ean p osi ti on ( or the m ean li ne of the di aph ragm ) will d escrib e a
small circl e p arall el to the m eridi an and at an angul ar dis t anc e the error ofc oll im ation from it , , ,

wh en the t el esc op e is rot at ed ab out its h oriz ont al axis .

The c ollim ati on c orrec ti on = c sec 6 = Cc,

in which is the angl e exp ress ed in sec onds of tim e b etw een the line of sight d efined by the
0 , ,

mic romet er wire wh en in its m ean p osi tion (or by the m ean line ofthe di aphragm ) and a pl ane
p erp endic ul ar to the h oriz ont al axis of the tel esc op e Inoth er w ords c is the angl e b etw eenthe
.
,

line o fcollimation and the collimation axis (See p I t is c onsid ered p ositive for a given
. .

tel esc op e ifthe line ofsight is too far eas t ( andst ars at upp er cu lminati onare th eref ore obs erved
too seen) wh en the ill um ination ( or b right b and ) is to the w estw ard This c onventi on of sign .

is p urely arbitrary h ow ever 0 is d erived from the time c ompu t ations by one of the p rocess es
,
.

sh ow n on p ages 2 6 3 4 and 42 , ,
.

The f act or 0 is writ tenfor sec 6 andis t abul at ed on p ages 62 — 7 7 I t is m ore easily obt ained
from the graphic al d evic e sh own in ill ust rati on N o 9 and d escrib ed on p age 6 1 F or obs erva
. .

ti ons m ad e wi th ill uminati on ( or b and ) to the w estw ard 0 is to b e c onsid ered posi tive for st ars
at upp er c ulminati on and negative for st ars at l ow er c ulminati on The signs are revers ed with .

ill uminati on (or b and ) east .

T H E A Z IMU T H C O RREC T I O N .

I f the ins tru ment is oth erwis e in adj ustm entb ut has a sm all error in azim uth , the icrome
, m
ter wire in its m ean p osi ti on ( or the m ean l ine of the di ap hragm ) w ill d escrib e a vertic al circl e
on the c el esti al sph ere at an angl e with the m eridi an The c orrecti on in s econds to an obs erved.

time oft ransit for this azimuth error is,

A z im uth correction= a sin C sec

inwhich a is the angl e exp ress ed in s ec onds oftim e b etw een the m eridi an and the vertic al circl e
d escrib ed by the m ean p osi ti on of the microm et er wire l I t is c onsid ered p ositive wh en the .

c ollim ati on axis is too far to the eas t with the t el esc op e p oint ed s outh .

F or c onveni enc e A is wr i tt en for sin C see 5 and will b e f ound t ab ul at ed on p ag es 62 — 7 7 .

I t canb e m ore easily obt ained wi th the graphic al d evic e sh own inill ustrati onN o 9 andd escrib ed .

on p ag e 6 1 The f act or A is c onsid ered p ositive for all st ars exc ep t th os e b etw een the zenith
.

and the p ol e .

I
p i h r alw y x i t
In ract ce t ee a se s s anerror ofco llima i on
t ,
g
so in ener l
a a is the an e gl b tw
e eenthe meridianand the axis ofcollimation .
 U . S
. COA ST AND GEODE TIC SU R EV Y SPECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

a is d erived from the obs ervati ons by one ofthe p roc ess es sh own on p ages 26, 3 4, 3 9 , and
42 , att enti on b ei ng p aid to sign as indic at ed ab ove .

C OM PU T AT I O N O F AT, 0, AN D a WITH OU T L E AST SQ UA RE S .

The foll owing m eth od ofc omput ationw as d evis ed sh ortly after the time ( 1 90 5) the t ransi t
micromet er w as ad op ted by this s urvey for use onl ongi tud e w ork and it is us ed b oth in the fi eld
andin the offic e for the final c ompu t ati onofall t im e obs ervations m ad e wi th the t ransit mi crome
ter at st ati ons in l atit ud e l ess th an In all l atit ud es great er th an 50 the l east sq uare
°
-

s olu ti on is us ed in ob t aining the final results Th ere is als o a s om ewh at different m eth od of .

c omp ut ation (sh own on p 3 4) us ed wh en the st ars of a tim e set c onsis t of fou r tim e st ars and
.

one azim uth st ar This m eth od w as us ed in the fi eld for a nu mb er of y ears

. .

Computation oftime set .

rorm 256 .

i
[Stat on, K ey W t Florid a D at
es ,
. e, F eb 1 4, 1 90 7
. . Set, 2 . Ob server, J . S . Hill . Computor I S
, . . Hill ) .

Cl mp
a

M ean A T :
+1 4 . 7 27

dl = — 0 2 7 4
.

AT= +I5 OO . 726

3 . (i t— 3 1 5 c+0 56
. .
+1 .

4 . {it c a
E

7 . it
« c +0 . 34 a
E

8 . 4 82 (i t— 5 38
. . 0 +2 .

12 .
—5 38 c
.

— 0 82
.
+1 . 02 — 0 99 a
.
15 a = +0 0 7 1
w
. .

—
— 0 82
. 0 83.
+0 . 56 17 . a
E
= +0 036
.

See note b low t bl

e a e on p . 1 8.
 DE TE R MINA TION OF T I ME . 27

EX PL A N A T I O N OF A B O V E COM P U T A T I O N .

The seri al nu mb ers indic ate the ord er of the various st eps of the c ompu t ation .

E ach equ ation for a s tar is of the form

, ,

AT+ Cc+ A a ( a— t) = o

E qu ati on 1 is ob t ained by adding c orresp ond ing t erms ofthe three s uch obs ervati on equ a
tions for the three s ou th st ars ( 1 3 and E quations 2 3 and 4 are obt ained in a si mil ar
, , , ,

manner th ere b eing tw o equ ations in each h alf set one involving the three s t ars f arth es t s ou th
, , ,

the oth er the rem aining st ars ofthe h alf set in this c as e three in nu mb er Th ere are then f ou r
,
.

equ ati ons involving fou r u nknowns whi ch can b e s olved by s imple algeb rai c elimination In
, ,
.

the ab ove c ompu t ation this has b een reduc ed to sys tem atic m ech anic al op erations The .

azimuth c onst ants are firs t elim inated next 0 is elim inat ed and th en (i t is obt ained
, The ,
.

c omp utation is so arranged th at the mul tip li ers are al w ays l ess th an uni ty which are us ed ,

to red uc e c oef ficients in c ert ain equ ati ons to equ ali ty wi th c orresp ond ing c oefficients in oth er
equ ati ons Th is m akes it p ossibl e to c arry through the entire c omp ut ati on with the aid of
.

G relle s ( or oth er s imil ar) t ables

’
In m aking substituti ons in equ ati ons such as 1 4 and 1 6
.
, ,

wh ere th ere is a ch oic e b etween two equ ati ons it is alw ays w ell to s elect the equ ati on ,

h aving the l arger c oefficient for the u nknown s ough t I f the c ompu t ati on is foll owed in .

th es e resp ects and a suffici ent numb er ofwh ol e s ec onds are d ropp ed from the ( a t) to ins ure -

th at a will b e l ess th an one s ec ond th ere is no nec essi ty i nany given c as e of c arrying the
, , ,

c ompu t ation to a greater nu mb er of d ecim al pl ac es th an are sh own above .

The checks whi ch must b e s atisfi ed if the computation is correct are: ( 1 ) The algebraic
,
'

sum of al l the residu als must not in hu nd redths of s ec onds b e more th an one h alf the nu mb er -

of st ars in the c ompl et e set ; ( 2 ) the su m of the tw o three or f ou r residu als c orresp ond ing to , ,

each of the f ou r equ ati ons d esignat ed ab ove as 1 2 3 and 4 must s eld om b e as l arg e as and
‘

, , , ,

never exc eed ,

I f th ese ch ecks are not s atisfied the foll ow ing p rincipl e may b e fou nd usefu l in d etect ing
,

whether the error w as mad e du ring the p roc ess of s olu tion of the fou r equ ati ons I f the work .

ofs olu tioni s c orrect the d erived values ofthe u nk

, nowns su bstitu ted in anyone ofthe equ ati ons
sh ould give a residu al not greater th an ( the su bstitu ti on b eing c arried to th ous and ths of
s ec onds ) bu t if any equ ation shows a residu al greater th an th is the error in the s oluti on w as
, ,

mad e in d eriving an eq uation ofa higher seri al number the s eri al nu mb ers h aving b een assigned ,

i nthe ord er inwhich the c ompu tati on w as mad e .

The chronometer correction AT is th en equ al to (i t plus the nu mber of wh ol e s ec onds

which were d ropped from ( a t) in ord er to lighten the work invol ved in m aking the compute
- -

r
.»

tion In this c as e it is equ al to

. The c hronom eter ep och for
which this c orrection applies is the mean ofthe chronometer times ofthe obs erved t ransits ; th at
is the m eanofthe t s I t is not the meanofthe righ t ascensi ons— u nl ess ofc ou rs e the chronom
,
’
.
, ,

eter c orrection h app ens to b e z ero

W
.

hil e it is advisable to h ave the instrument al c onst ants c aw and (LE sm all it is not , , ,

d esirable to strive to h ave th em cl os e to z ero F or the azimu th c onst ant one s ec o

. nd is a good
limit to keep within whil e if the c ollimation c onst ant is l ess th an
,
it is w ell not to attemp t
fu rth er adj ustm ent wi th a view of red uc ing it .

The c omp ut ations are s omewh at s impler wh en the transit is revers ed on each st ar and one
h alf the obs ervati ons on a st ar are mad e in each of the p osi ti ons b and w est and b and eas t —

for the c ollim ation is eliminat ed by the meth od of observing and the on l y u nknowns are one
azimu th c onst ant and the cl ock c orrecti on A T ,
.
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEODE T IC U VEY
S R S PECIA L P U BLICA TION NO . 1 4.

A SECO N D E X AM PL E OF RECO RD AN D COM P U T A T I O N .

O n p age 2 6 referenc e is m ad e to a second meth od of soluti on for AT, a, and 0 , with ou t

the use ofl east squ ares This s ec ond method is us ed wh en a d iff erent s el ec ti on ofst ars is m ad e
.

from th at sh own on p ag e 1 8 The diff erence b etw een the tw o st ar s ets is th at in the ex ampl e
.

ofc ompu t ati on sh own on p ag e 2 6 the ins trument al c onst ants c and a are d et ermi ned from all
the st ars , each s t ar b eing gi ven u nit w eight , whil e in the m eth od which foll ows th ereis obs erved
in each h alf set a sl ow moving st ar, c al l ed the azimuth st ar, from whi ch the azim uth c ons tant
.
-

for th at h alf set is p rincip ally d et ermined Besides this azimuth st ar th ere are f our ti me st ars
.

in each h alfset, and it is from the eigh t time st ars in the entire set th at the c ollim ati on c onst ant
is mai nly d erived I t s eems th at the meth od of h aving all t ime st ars in a set is p referabl e to
.

the oth er m eth od , in wh i ch b oth ti me and azim uth st ars are us ed In the f ormer, the cl ock
.

n
c orrec ti o d ep ends on all 1 2 st ars ins tead of b eing d eri ved mainl y from 8 st ars only, and
the c ollimation c orrecti on is more accu rat ely d etermined The az im uth c onst ants , h ow ever,
.

are not so acc urat ely d et ermined by the firs t as by the s ec ond method , b ut th i s is immateri al
if the plus and minus azimuth f act ors in each h alf set are ab ou t equally b al anc ed
W
.

hil e this sec ond meth od has b een s up ers ed ed in the l ongi tu d e w ork of the Coast and
G eod etic Su rvey , it is c onsid ered d es irabl e to c ontinu e it in this pu bli c ati on .

Using this s econd m eth od , tim e acc ep t abl e for l atitu d e or azimuth work can b e easily
’
ob t ained with a m eridi an t el es cop e, a z eni th t el esc op e, or even with an engineer s transit or
th eod olit e In its us ual f orm the st ar set c onsists of f ou r tim e s t ars and an az imuth st ar with
.

the ins trum ent in each p osi ti on, b and w est and b and east I f greater acc uracy is d esired the
.

nu mb er oftime st ars in a h alf set mayb e inc re ased , or if l ess accu racy is need ed the nu mb er may
b e d ecreas ed . In the w ork ofthe Su rvey u p to the time ofthe ad op tionofthe t ransit mic rometer
and the meth od of c ompu t ation show n on p ages 2 0 — 2 7 , the st andard t ime set c onsis ted of two .

h alf s ets , in each of which w as one azimu th st ar and fou r ti me st ars .

“
The foll owi ng set ofobservati ons w as mad e w ith a Sm all p ort able transit , using anobs erving
key to record the ob servati ons chronographic ally W
i th the rec ord of obs ervations th ere are
.

given the readings of the l evel , the c orrec tion for inclination of the h oriz ont al axis of the t el e
sc op e (which in this c as e includ es a c orrection for inequali ty ofpivots ) , and the c omp ut ati on of
( CY — t) A c orrecti on for rate has b een introduc ed
. The c orrecti on for diu rnal ab errati on and
.

the c orrecti on for rate are obt ained in the s ame m anner as sh own on p ag e 24 The form on .

whi ch the l evel readings are rec ord ed is sh own on p ag e 2 0 .

 DE TE R M INA T ION OF TI M E . 29

Star listfor W hington D

as
"

,
. C .
—
L atitude 3 8 54 N
’
.

f
Star actors

D lin
ec a Z ni th di s
ti on C oll 1
e
tance Incli
na ma A zimuth
i
t on ti on
B 0

h
. 02 M ec
t
:
02
. 02
i
U u
n c 30
1
— cc + 36
a
02 D
C

—
.

w
i a

02 22
H
-
. t p
az — 1 03
04 Q
( cc

—
. l .

02 O
—
O
H 25
l

n
. O

02 O Oc 35
‘

. I

—
. 02 AA Aa . 19
. 03
‘

UCO n b
O i

O D o
2 53
‘

. 06 O O l c — .

B BerlinerAstronomSchcs J ahrb uch

- . A -
AmericanE phemeris .
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC S R U VEY SPE CIA L P U B LI CA T ION N O . 14 .

g the c omp ut ati on are gi ven any expl anati ons need ed to s uppl ement or q ual ify
ons ofc omp ut ati ons gi ven on p ag es 2 2 2 7 —
.

i
(Stat on, Wa hing ton D C D
s , . . ate, May 1 7 ,
1 896 . Ob server, G . R . P .

7
: U rs. Maj .
n Bootis n Bootis a Dra o
c .

Wt es Wst
e

Di i
rect on of oh

j ective for eve l l

m
R e ar sk an 1 ( Means oflevel s
c ompu a i on
t t

+ 5 98x 027 9=
. .

b W
Ob serve dt ranst i
L in
e 1
 U . S . COA ST AND GEODE T IC SU R VEY P CIAL PU BLICA T ION NO
S E . 1 4.

RE DUC T I O N OF I N C OM PL E T E T RA N SI T S .

If t ransit of a st ar across every line of the di aphragm is obs erved the m ean of the
the
ti mes is the req ui red ti me of t ransit across the m ean line In obt aining the sumof the s everal
,
“
.

obs erved ti mes any gross error in any one of the ti mes may b e d et ect ed by using the aux ili ary
s ums shown in the ex ampl e on p ag es 3 0—3 1 in the li ttl e c ol umn j ust aft er the obs erved ti mes
, , ,

namely the sum of the first and l ast tim es of the s ec ond and l ast but one thi rd and l ast bu t
, , ,

tw o etc
, Th es e auxi li ary s ums sh oul d b e nearly the s ame andnearly equ al to d oubl e the ti me
.

on the mi ddl e line Thi s is als o a c onveni ent m eth od of t aking m eans as i t is in g eneral only
.
,

nec ess ary to sum the d eci mal col umns

W
.

h en the s tar w as obs erved on s om e of the lines b ut miss ed up on the oth ers the ti me of ,

transi t over the mean of all the lines may b e f ou nd as foll ows :

tm mean ofobs erved

or t = mean ofobs erved

The firs t of th es e f orm ul ae isthe more c onveni ent if but few lines w ere obs erved and the
s ec ond the m ore c onveni ent if but few lines w ere miss ed . The two inc ompl et e transits shown
in the ex ampl e on p ag es 30— 3 1 w ere reduc ed by the s ec ond form ul a .

tm is the tim e of t ransit across the m ean ofall the lines of the di aphragm The equ at ori al .

int erval ofa gi ven line is the ti me whi ch w ould el a ps e b etw een the t ransi t ofan equ at ori al s t ar
over the mean line ofthe di ap hrag m and the t ransi t over the line in q uesti on I t is in s econds .
,

of tim e 1 1 5 the ang ul ar int erval b etw een the li nes exp ress ed in s ec onds of are
, An equ at ori al .

i nt erval is c al l ed p ositi ve wh en the t ransi t across the linein q uesti onocc urs l at er th an the t ransit
ac ros sthe mean line The signs of all the eq uatori al i nt ervals are th erefore revers ed wh en the
.

h oriz ont al axi s of the t el e s c op e i s revers ed .

F or an ex ampl e of the m eth od of c omputing the equ at ori al int ervals see p age 44 .

The ab ove formul ae for red ucti on to the m ean line are app roxim at e and the m ax imum ,

p ossibl e error of the app roxi mati on i ncreas es with an increa s e in the d eclinati on of the s t ar
andwi th an i ncreas e in the equ at ori al int erval s ofthe extreme lines I f the ext reme eq uat ori al .

interval is the max i mum error is l ess th an for a st ar of whi ch and is only
if I f the extreme i nt erval is 1 5 the m axi mu m error is l ess than O 0 1 if
8
,
‘
S
.

The more ex act formul a for use wi th circump ol ar st ars is the s am e as th at gi ven ab ove ,

exc ep t th at f , 3
or each equ at ori al i nt erval i m ust b e s ubstit ut ed i / sec 1 in which r is the h our
, ,

angl e ofthe st ar at t ran sit across the li ne or wi th s uffici ent acc uracy r = i sec 5 = the act ual tim e
.

interval from the mean line .

The foll ow ing t abl e will b e f ound us eful in c onnecti on with this formul a .

z log Vcos r log Vsec r

l The co lli m ti onfa tor C( gi v ninth

a c as e li
e star st on p . 29 ) is the sec 9 .
 DE T E R MINA T ION OF T I ME .

If the chronom eter rat e exc eeds 1 5 per day i t will b e d esi rabl e to t ak e i t int o acc ou nt in
8

making the red ucti on of incompl et e transi ts to the m ean line .

Anoth er m ethod ofred ucing inc ompl et e t ransits is to c ons truct from the known equ at ori al
int erval s a t abl e simi l ar to th at ofw hich a p orti onis p rint ed b el ow sh owing the int erval ofeach
line from the m ean line corresp onding to vari ous d eclinati ons The c orrecti onofeach O bs erved .

line to the mean line is th en t ak en out di rectly from the t abl e and the m ean of the vari ous
c orrect ed t ransits tak en .

flines of Transi t N o 1 8frommean line

Intervals o . .

[The num b ring ofth li n

e e es is for b nd w
a est ]

Lin I I I e L ine I V L in eX L ine X I

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

Transit N o 1 8 w as the instrum ent us ed for the obs ervati ons sh own on p ag es
. 30 3 1 -
. The
incompl et e t ransit of the st ar 1 7 H Can Ven of whi ch the d eclinati on is 3 7 ° . . .
, may be
comput ed as i ndi c at ed b elO W ‘

M ean= 1 6 l w
'

. 1 2 , agreeing w ith the resu t sho n in the

m
ex a ple on page 30 .

The sp eci al ad vant ag e ofthi s meth od inc ompl et e t ransits is th at a wild obs erva ofreducing
ti on up on a ny one line is at onc e d et ect ed Such wild obs ervati ons are apt to occ ur und er the .

condi ti ons whi ch p rod uc e i ncompl et e transits viz cl ouds h ast e or di fficulty wi th i lluminati on ,
.
, , ,
.

CO RR E C T I O N FOR R AT E .

The m eth od of c ompu ting this correction is shown on p age 2 4 .

C O RR E C T I O N S F O R D IUR N AL B
A E RR A IO N , T C O LL I MAT I O N ,
AN D AZ IMU TH .

The c orrecti o
n for di urnal ab errati on and g eneral ex press on i s ,
for the c ollim ation and
azimuth c orrecti ons are sh own on p ag es 2 4—2 5.
81 3 6° — 1 3 — 3
 U . S. COA ST AN D G E ODE T IC S R U VE Y PECIA L PU BLICA T ION N O
S . 14 .

C OM P U T A T I O N O F AT,
(1 AN D c, U SI N G A ZIMU T H STAR SAN D M E T H O D O F A PP ROXIMA T I O N S .

The meth od of c omp ut ati on sh own b el ow w as in use in the fi eld by p arti es of thi s Survey

for many y ears .

1
I t is now repl ac ed by the m eth od sh ow n on p ag e 2 6 .

[Stat on i ,
Wa hington D C D at May1 7
s , . . e, ,
1890 ]

17 H . Can . V en .

o: -
t Cc— A a

Meanofti mestars
A zimuth star

Meanofti mestars
A zi muth star

1 The compl ete formul a f

o rthe chronometer correcti on is A T=c
x — tm
( 4 Cc+A a) L et h
t en A T ( a— t)
: Cc— A a
h will b h i b d lg b ai ally f oma
.

sot at it es ect ons

een t at the corr Cc and A uare to be su tracte a e r c r — t
.

E X PL A N A T I ON OF THE COM P U T A T I O N .

The firs t five c ol umns p orti on of the c omp utati on w ere c ompil ed from the
of the upp er
record andc omp ut ati on sh ow n on p ag es 3 0 3 1 and from the obs erving list sh own on p ag e 2 9 —
.

The remaining columns w ere fill ed out aft er the comp ut ati on of a and 0 sh own in the l ow er ,

p orti on of the f orm w as c ompl et ed ,

.

I t sh ould b e not ed th at the five s t ars ofeach group obs erved in one p ositi on ofthe instru ,

m ent h ave b een SO s el ect ed th at one is a sl owly movi ng north ern st ar at a c onsid erable dist anc e
,

from the zenith whil e the oth er four are all c omp aratively near the zenith s ome t ransiting to
, ,

the northw ard of it and s ome to the s outhw ard and at such dist anc es from it th at th eir m ean ,

azimuth f act or A is nearly z ero ,

Th es e four st ars ofeach group mayb e for c onveni enc e c all ed
,
.

time stars s inc e the d et ermi nati on of time f alls mai nl y up on th em w hil e the sl owly m ovi ng
, ,

north ern st ar s erves to d et ermine the azimuth error of the instrum ent and may b e c all ed the ,

azi muthstar .

In this c omp ut ati on to d erive c and a the time s t ars in eachp ositi on of the ins trument
are c ombi ned and t reat ed as one st ar by t aki ng the m eans of th eir ( ct and of th eir s tar
f act ors 0 and A , resp ecti vely , th es e means b ei ng wri tt en b el ow the s ep arat e St ars in the f orm,
tog eth er wi th the azimu th s tars O n the assu mp tion th at the m eans of the ti me st ars in the
.

two p ositi ons ofthe instru ment are equ ally aff ect ed by the az imuth c orrecti on the fi rs t approx i ,

It was d vi ed in th
e s e se e v nti es by A i tant E dwi n Smi th thenanaidinthis Su
sss , rvey See p 280 A ppendix 4 ofthe R eport for 1 904
. .
, .
 D E T E R MI N A T IO N OF T I ME . 35

m ati on to c is fou nd b v di viding the differenc e b etw een the mean ( a — ’

i s ) by the diff erenc e
b etween the 0 s In the ex amp l e
’
.
,

“39 4 07 )
(firs t app roxi mati on)
-

U si ng this app roxi mati on to c, the c orrec ti on Cc is th en s ub tract ed from the a — t ofeach m ean

of the ti me s tars and of each az i m uth st ar, and the val ues of a — t C c in the seventh c ol umn ,

on the fif th to eigh th lines f rom the b ott om of the f orm , are obt ai ned .

Sep arate valu es for the azi muth error of the i nst ru ment are th en d eri ved for each p osi ti on
of the i nstrument as f oll ows :

( fr" t ‘
0 0 )tlme stars ( af t O C)az imuth star 4 64)
-

With th es e val ues of aw and ( L the c orrecti ons A a are appli ed gi ving the valu es a — t 0 0 — 1 1 0
E ,

in the l ast c ol umn b ut one I f th es e do not agree for the st ars eas t and w es t i t i ndi c ates th at
.

the m eanval ues ( r— t us ed in d eri vi ng 0 w ere not equ ally af

,
f ec ted b v the azi muth error so th at
, ,

th eir differenc e w as not enti rely due to c as w as ass umed An i mp roved valu e of 0 may now
, .

b e obt ai ned b y t reat ing the diff erenc e in the l ast c olu mn as still an error of c olli mati on and ,

thus ob tai ning a c orrec ti on to the fi rs t app roximat e val ue of c Th us in the ex ampl e .
, ,

this correcti on to the fi rs t app roximat e valu e of c=

i

Applying w e h ave for a s ec ond

app roxi mati on c= P roc eedi ng as b ef ore imp roved val ues for aw and m ;, are f ound .

I f the s tar sets are w ell ch os en and the i nstrum ent al errors s mall the fi rs t app roximation will ,

g enerally suffice I f the valu es ofa — t Cc— A a diff er by bu t a few hu nd redths eas t and w est
.
, ,

th ere is littl e g ai ned by maki ng a cl os er adj ust ment The ch ronomet er correction w ill p rob .

ably not b e chan ged at all b ut the i nst ru ment al errors and s t ar resid uals w ill b e sligh tly alt ered
'

, ,

as is app arent f rom the ex ampl e wh ere the cl os er adj ust ment is mad e for the p urp os e of ill us
,

trati ng the meth od .

In the fis t app roxi mati on the val ue of c may at onc e b e d er i ved m ore cl os ely wh en th ere
is much differenc e b etw een the m ean A s for the ti me s t ars by esti mati ng the effect of
’
,

ferenc e in A on the A T and all ow i ng for this eff ect wh en d eri vi ng c in the firs t pl ac e
thi s dif , .

The f ormul a for c th en b ec omes

— AE) X G /

nec ess ary to esti mat e the azimuth of the i ns tru ment ,
I t is h ere
'

a, roughly in ad vanc e, and

this mayb e d one by i nsp ecti on Th us , in the ex ampl e, assu mi ng a
. w e h ave

g
a ree i ng cl os ely wi th the val ue gi ven by the s ec ond app roxim ati on
W
.

h en s atisf act ory val ues of c aw , and ( L E h ave b een obt ained the c orrecti ons Cc and A0
, ,

are appli ed s ep arately to each st ar as sh ownin the upp er p art andthe val ues ofthe chronom et er
, ,

c orrection ( A T) d eri ved s ep arat ely The residu als are t ak en for each g roup from the m ean
.

of th at group and th us f urnish a c onven

,
i ent ch eck on the c omp ut ati on as th eir s ums for each ,

group sh ould app roxi mat e z ero Unus ual resid uals al so p oi nt to p ossibl e errors in a — t The
. .
 U . S. COA ST AN D G EO D E T IC S R U VEY S PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

m ean ofthe A T’s fromthe s ep arate st ars gi ves the final ch ronomet er c orrecti on at the ep och of
the m ean of the ch ronomet er t imes of t ransit of the s tars obs erved .

This wh ol e c omp ut ati on may b e m ad e wi th rapidi ty by the use of Crelle s mul tiplic ati on
’

t abl es .

The fi eld c omp ut ati on h aving b een mad e as outli edn ab ov e

l
the more refi ned offic e com ,
‘

p ut ati on may b e m ad e as i ndi c at ed on p ag es 3 9—4 1 I t is d esirabl e in thi s offic e c omp ut ation .

to i ntrod uc e w eights d ep end ent up on the d ec linati on of the st ar and the numb er of li nes of the
reticl e up on which the s tar w as obs erved .

The f our eq uati ons s ol ved by s ucc essi ve app rox imati ons ab ove may b e s olved by direc t
, ,

eli m i nati on in c as e the c oeffi ci ents ofaw andamdo not b ec ome rel atively s mall in the tw o eq ua
,

ti ons g ott en by t aki ng the mean of the ti me s tars in the tw o h alf s ets .

RE LA T IV E WE I G HT S F O R INCO MPL E T E T R AN SIT S .

Someti mes the t ransit of a s tar is obs erved over s ome of the li nes of the di aphragm and
miss ed over the oth ers O b vi ously the d educ ed ti me of t ransi t over the mean li ne from s uch
.

an i nc ompl ete t ransit sh ould b e gi ven l ess w eigh t th an th at from a c ompl et e t ransit .

F or obs ervati ons mad e by the eye and ear method the rel ati ve w eights gi ven by Ch auvenet
may b e us ed , vi z :
n ( N + 3)

o
in which p is the w eight to b e assig ned to the c omp ut ed tim e of t ransit over the mean li ne, N
is the t ot al numb er of li nes in the di aphragm , and n is the numb er of li nes up on whi ch ob ser
vations w ere m ad e 2 This f orm ul a is b as ed up on the ass umpti on th at (e)2
. in which (5 )
the p rob abl e error of an obs erved t ransit of an equat ori al st ar over a si ngle li ne and (5 ) = the 1

p rob abl e culmi nati on error ref erred to the equat or a c onst ant for all the li nes ofthe di ap hragm ,

for any one st ar b ut var i abl e from st ar to st ar and s upp os ed to b e due m ai nly to at mosph eric
, ,

displ ac ement to outs tandi ng i ns trument al errors to i rreg ul ariti es in cl ock rat e and to ch ang es
, , ,

in p ers onal eq uati on .

The f oll owi ng t abl e sh ows the val ues of p and J p for the tw o c as es of 5 and 7 li nes in the
di aph ragm:
Table of weights for i ncomplete transits for use with eye and ear observati ons .

1 F ora more complete account ofthis meth od ofcomputation see Appendix p

N o 9, R e ort for 1 896 The ab ove account is l argely k
ta en rof m
h pp ndix
, . .

t at a e
S Chauv n t A t onomy p 1 98 Th d iv tion of thi formul a foll ow me l ines as that g wonon the foll owing
.

ei
ee
w g ht to b a rmd o in ompl
s e
e e s

ssr
’

e t
sr
c
,

ete
Vol II, . .

s s e
e er

tran i t tak n by th
.

ec r
a
h onographi m thod
s s the sa p ag s for
e
c e .
 D E TE R MIN A TIO N or TI M E . 37

The w eigh ts to b e assig ned

rel ati ve to i nc ompl et e t ransits ob served by the chronograph
method may b e d eri ved as f ollows :

in whi ch r= the p rob abl e error ofthe tim e oft ransit over the mean li ne arising from the corn ,

bined eff ect of the c ulmi nati on error ref erred to the eq uat or (5 1 ) and of the prob abl e error of
the t ransit ofan eq uat ori al st ar over a si n gl e li ne
To find r i ndi vi d ual d et ermi nati ons of right asc ensi ons of st ars all referred to the s ame
, ,

ep och ( m ean pl ac e) may b e c omp ared wi th th eir resp ecti ve averag e valu es ; th us from 5 58
, ,

res ults of 3 6 s tars obs erved at the U nit ed States N aval O bs ervat ory wi th the t ransi t ci rcl e

( usi ng a m agni fyi n g p ow er of 1 86 ) in 1 87 0 an d 1 87 1 it w as f ound th at r=

, To apply
thi s valu e to our ins t rum ents it mus t b e s om ewh at i ncreas ed th ough not in p rop orti on to the ,

resp ec ti ve m ag n i fyi ng p ow ers si nc e s ome of the errors i nvol ved app roach the ch aract er of
,

c ons tants ; m ul tiplyi ng it by and for our l arg er and s mall er transits resp ecti vely , th ere ,

is obt ai ned r= i 0 0 5 1 and r= 8

. F or the l arg er t ransits (e) = i 0 0 63 and for the 8
.

’
sm aller (5 ) i 0 080 1
( See p . Substi tuti ng th es e values in the above f ormul a t og eth er
.
,

wi th the val ues 2 5 and 1 5 for n as act ually us ed in the ob servati ons ci ted on p ag e 3 8 th ere is ,

ob tai ned
2

and

whi ch gi ve
( )
51 j; and i O
"
. 0 56

for the l arg er and sm al l e

r instruments resp ec ti vely ,
.

I f the weight for a c ompl ete t ransit is unity the w eight , for an i nc ompl et e t ransit is

( )
e
2

H enc e,
for the l arg er i nst rum ents , usi ng the ab ove val ues for (5 1 ) and (e) ,

andfor the s mall er i nst ru ments

very nearly . From th es e exp ressi ons w eights h ave b een c omp ut ed for tot al numb er
the rel ati ve
of th reads N = 2 5 1 7 1 3 and 1 1 for the l arg er i nst rum ents and for N = 1 5 1 3 1 1 and 9 for
, , , , , ,

the sm all er ones and are sh own in the f oll owi ng t abl e
, .
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC SU R VEY S PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

Table ofw eightsfor incomplete transitsfor use with chronographi c observati ons
‘

l p
F or arge orta bl ans ts
e tr i mall portabl e transi ts
F ors

RE L A T I V E WE I G H T S TO T RA N SI T S D E P E N DI N G ON T HE ST A R ’S DE C L I N A T I O N .

The f ollowi ng t abl es prob abl e error (e) of an obs ervati on of a t ransi t of a st ar over a
of the
single l ine h ave b een d eri ved f rom a discus si on of 1 0 47 t ransits t ak en in Feb ruary and M arch ,

1 86 9 at San Francisc o by Assist ant G D avids on wi th the l arg e t ransit C S N o 3 ( ap ertu re 2 §

, ,
.
, . . .

i nch es m agnifyi ng p ow er and 87 5 t ransi ts t ak en ab out the s am e ti me at C amb ridg e by

Assist ant A T M
,

osm an i ncl udi ng s ome obs ervati ons by Sub assistant F Bl ak e with the l arg e
. .
, .
,

t ransit C S N o 5 ( ap ert ure 2 % i nch es m ag nifyi ng p ower

. . . F or the disc ussi on of ob ser
,

vations with a sm all er i ns trument 330 t ransits were us ed t ak en in Sept emb er O ct ob er and
, , , ,

N ovemb er 1 87 1 at Clevel and O hi o; and585 t ransi ts t ak eninD ec emb er andJ anuary 1 87 1 — 7 2

, , , , , ,

at F alrnouth K y by Assist ant E G oodfell ow wi th a m eridi an t el esc op e C S N o 1 3 ( ap ert ure

,
.
,
.
, . . .

If i nch es mag nifyi ng p ow er ab out

,

T rani
stN o 3
Meridi antel escop e
N o 13
.
.
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T I C SU R VEY S PECIAL PU BLICA T IO N NO . 1 4.

q uanti ty on the l ast li ne of the fi eld rec ord L et At and c omp utati on as sh own on p ag es 3 0— 3 1 .

b e an assu med valu e ofthe chronom eter c orrec ti on and dl a c orrec ti on to At to b e d eri ved from
the oc mp uta on The na va e of the
ti fi l lu .
ch ronome ter c orrec ti on will th en b e A T = At + 6t .

L et d for each star= Atc — Ai

,
.

Th en for each st ar ob served an obs ervati on eq uati on ofthe f orm

w/fiat 45 d
/ A a =
xp ,

may b e writt en in which the weights p are assig ned

,
a or n
cc di g to the tabl es on p g s
a e 3 8—
39 .

In f orm i ng the normal equ ati ons each h al f set m ad e with ,

the h oriz ontal axi s in one p osi
ti on, is i nd ep end ently of the oth er h alf set
treat ed .

The norm al equ ati ons c orresp ondi ng to the h alf set mad e wi th ill umi nati on (or b ri ght
b and ) to the w es tw ard are
2 pat =£ d
p
Z pA dt Z pA Z aW Z pA d

and si mi l arly for the oth er h alf set .

The m os t conveni ent arrang em ent of this c omp ut ati on is sh ow n b el ow this ex ampl e b ei ng ,

a c omp ut ati on ofthe ti me set t reat ed on p ag es 2 9— 3 1 and 3 4 .

WA HIS NG T O N ,
D C May1 7
. .
, , 1 89 6 .

c= 03 2

Th ese Weigh ts are tak en fromthe col umnh ead ed l g p

F or ar e orta bl i
e trans ts
. bl
in the ta e on p . 39 .

N ormal eq uati ons :

l
I
l
I

At l 4n0 2 m AT=

+7 2 9 Q 27 q = 1.
Q = O 1 38 .

27 o +1 97 q = 0.

In the ab ove c omp ut ati on a ch eck on the c orrect ness of the as sumed val ue fc is f urnish ed o
by the nearness of agreement of the tw o val ues of B t res ul ti ng f rom the tw o g roups of s tars .

The norm al e q uati ons are s ol ved m ost c onveni ently by s ucc essi ve pp roxim ati ons
a ,
as, for
 DE TE RMINA T ION or T I ME .

inst anc e, inthe s ec ond eq uati onthe val ue ofaWcanb e cl os ely d eri ved at onc e onthe assump ti on
th at (i t is sm all The resid uals (A) are t ak en for each group s ep arat ely , using its own dt ‘ to
.

d eri ve a A Tfor this p urp os e, and the s ums of the pA s sh ould of c ours e nearly equal zero for
’

The p rob abl e error of a si ngl e obs ervati on of uni t weight is

_

each set .

e,

wh ere YpA is the sum of the weigh ted sq uares of the resid ual s (l ast c olumn in f orm) no is the
z
'
2
,

numb er of s tars and no is the numb er of unknown q uanti ti es or numb er of norm al eq uati ons ,

rem emb eri ng in this ex ampl e th at th ere are f our unknowns a t aw an and c the l at ter b ei ng , , , , ,

t aken from the fi eld c omp ut ati on To obt ai n the p rob abl e error e of the c omput ed A T add
.
,

the c orresp ondi ng norm al eq uati ons of the tw o s ets put Q in pl ac e of fit q in pl ac e of a 1 in , , ,

pl ac e of2 pd and 0 in pl ace ofZ pAd as sh ow n Th en e = en/Q

, ,
. f .

THE CO MPL E T E L E A ST UA R E C OM P UT A T I O N
”

SQ .

Wn he ti me obs ervati ons

t ak en in A l ask a u nus ual c ondi ti ons are enc ou nt ered arisi ng
are ,

from the high l atitud e of the s tati on from 55 to 65 for the regi ons in whi ch the Survey
— ° °

obs ervers are c all ed up on to obs erve m ost f req uently Z eni th s tars are th ere slow m oving st ars .
-

( and c ons eq uently h ave sm all w eigh ts ) ; for s tars b etween the z eni th and the p ol e pA is com
parativelys mall ; the rapidly m ovi ng s t ars are far to the s outhw ard of the z eni th and it is easy
Moreover the very p revalent
,

to obs erve sub polars as the north ern h oriz onis far b el ow the p ol e
,
.

cl oudy w eath er is apt to b reak in up on any p revi ously arranged p rogram The c ombi ned
. .

resul t ofth es e c onditi ons is ing eneral th at the s ets ofs tars actu ally obs erved are p oorly b al anc ed ;
th at is the algeb raic sum ofthe A f act ors for each h alf set and of the 0 f act ors for the whol e
,

set w ill dif fer c onsid erably from z ero In ext reme c as es i t is s om et im es d esirabl e to res ort
.

to the c ompl ete l east s qu are c ompu tati on in which 0 aw dE and A T are all d eri ved by the , , ,

p ri ncipl e ofl eas t s q uares

W
.

e h ere st art wi th a — t ( as sh own on p p 30 and the remai ni ng not ati on st ands as on

.

p ag e 40 excep t th at w e must h ere dis ti ng uish by the s ubsc rip ts w andE b etweenA f a
,
c tors b el ong
ing to the tw o h alf s ets .

An obs ervati oneq uati on ofone ofthe f oll owi ng f orms mayb e wri tt enfor each st ar obs erved

as w ere .

w/P 5t N/2) A waw x/p0 6 = / d

wP

The normal e q uati ons will be

+ E pAWaW + Z pO c Z pd
+ 2 pA E C =2 A d
'

"
c p E
2 pA E pA c E pA Wd
'

+2 pA E C 0 Z pO d
2
aE +2 p 0
The f oll owi ng will s erve as a c onc rete ill us tration ofthi s methodmp utati on The only ofc o .

p reliminary ass ump ti on in thi s c omp utati on is an app rox im ate val ue ofthe chronomet er correc
ti on At .

Mich a l 63
,

O wi ng to the high l ati tud e of St . e

°
the ti me s tars are all s outh of the
ofA is far fromz ro
,

z eni th ,
and the avera e g valu e e .

1 The two(i t’s h ere happ entob e sonear ly q u l that A

e a
'
s are the sa me as if takenby usi ng the A T forthe wh ol e g roup .
42 U . S. COA ST AND GEO D E T IC U VEY
S R S PECIAL P U BLICA T ION N O . 1 4.

ST. M I CHA E L A L A SK A March 1 9

, , ,
1 89 1 .

7 53.
+0 2 1
.

N ormal eq uati ons

+7 53 (i t +2 81 aE +3 1 0 aw +
. . . c — 7 70.

+2 81 at +2 52 (1 E
. . c — 3 74.

+3 1 0 at +2 88 aW—l . c — 3 23.

+0 21 at — 1 7 3 aE +2 O7 aW+
. . . c 94
c = +O . 1 83
(IE — 1 342
.

aW= —1 . 23 3
at —
o0 2.

The mark ably l arg e val ue for Q aris es from the f act th at the azi muth errors aW and a
re , E

are b ut f eebly d et ermi ned see c ol umn h ead ed pA and the normal eq uati ons
, .

Someti mes i t is assu med th at the azi muth error is the s ame for b oth h al ves of a set and ,

the dis ti nc ti on b etw een aw and a is d ropp ed and a si ngl e a d eri ved f rom the wh ol e set the
E .

normal equ ati ons b ei ng modifi ed acc ordi ngly This p roc ed ure is entirely j ustifi abl e if the .

azi muth error d uri ng the tw o h alf s ets is act ually the s ame I f the tw o azi muths really differ .
,

s ome error will b e i nt rod uc ed i nt o the c omp ut ed res ults by this procedure and the error so ~

i ntrod uc ed will b e l arg er the great er is s aid differenc e E xp eri enc e sh ows th at the i nst ab ili ty .

of the i ns trument in azim uth is in g eneral s uffici ent to m ak e it d esi rabl e to di sti ng uish b etw een
the tw o azi muth errors if accurate res ul ts are d esi red exc ep t wh en th ere are b ut ew st ars
f ,

obs erved in the set say s even or l ess, , .

TH E SE L EC T I ON OF S TA RS .

The st ars sh own in the obs erving list (p 1 8) s d inthe c omp ut ati on on p ag es 2 1 2 2 and
. andu e ,

2 6 w ere ch os en by the m eth od now us ed for l ongit ud e w ork in l atitud es l ess th an In each
h alf set th ere are five to s even time st ars (six s tars p ref erred ) a ti me st ar b eing one which has ,

an A f act or l ess th an unity Th es e st ars are so s el ect ed th at the al g ebraic sumof the A f act ors
.

in a h alf set sh all not b e great er th an unity I t is d esirabl e to h ave the alg ebraic sum of the
.
'

A f act ors of the st ars in a h al f set as s mall as can b e obt ai ned by the use of good j ud gment
in th ei r s el ecti on b ut it is not d esirabl e to red uc e the num
, b er of s tars per h our to b e obs erved
in ord er to imp rove the b al anci ng of the A f act ors if the b al anci ng is al ready withi n the ,

sp ecifi ed li mit
'

In end eavori ng to obt ai n the m axi mum numb er of s tars per h our s ubj ect to the c onditi on ,

of the b al anci ng of the A f act ors c onsid erati on m ust b e gi ven the q uesti on of l evel readi ngs
,
 D E T E R MINA T ION O F T I ME . 43

and revers al s of the mnt

Ampl e tim e sh ould b e p rovid ed for the p erf ormanc e of th es e
inst ru e .

O p erati ons In l ongit ud e work all ow anc e must b e ad e for the exch ang e of tim e signal s ,
. m
whi ch , if the st ations are not very far ap art , usu all y t akes pl ac e b etw een the two s ets — th at
is , b etween the s ec ond and third h alf s ets The exch ang e ay b e m ad e, h ow ever, at any ti me
. m
d uri ng the obs ervi ng p eriod if th ere is t roubl e in g etti ng a cl ear wire b etw een the two obs erva
t ori es or if cl ouds b reak up p rearranged s ets of st ars An ob server s oon l earns f rom p ractice .

how m uch time must b e all ow ed for the different op erati ons .

I t is d esirabl e, but not nec ess ary , to obs erve the s ame st ars at b oth st ations wh en d et er
mining a difference of l ongit ud e This is of l ess imp ort anc e, h owever, th an secu ring rapid
W
.

obs ervati ons wi th the A f ac t ors in each h alf set w ell b al anc ed h en the tw o st ati ons are not .

m
dist ant , any of the st ars obs erved at one st ati on will nec ess arily b e obs erved at the oth er .

In l ongi tud e w ork the obs ervati ons each night c onsist nor al ly of f ou r h al f s ets of six m
st ars each , w i th a revers al of the inst rument b etw een each tw o c ons ecutive h al f s ets The .

m
revers al of the inst ru ent aft er each of the h al f sets is a p rec auti on wh i ch exp eri enc e has
j us tifi ed , for sh ould only th ree h alf s ets b e obs erved ( through i nt erf erenc e of cl ouds or for other
reas ons ) tw o s ets can still b e obt ained by c ombi n i ng the firs t and s ec ond and the s ec ond and
third h alf s ets , th us obt aining tw o c orrec tions to the chronomet er and its rat e
W
.

m
h ere it is d es ired to use the az imuth st ar eth od ofs oluti onsh own onp ag es 3 4 and40 , a dif
ferent s el ecti onofst ars is to b e m ad e A h alfset c onsists offi . ve st ars f oll owing each oth erInrapid
s ucc essi on, so ch os en that the al g eb raic sum of the A f act ors of the f ou r time st ars (each near
the z enith ) will b e nearly z ero, and th at the az im uth st ar of each h al f set will h ave its A f act or
’
n e s n
great er th an unity , a d yet ot b o ear the p ol e as to rend er the st ar s t ransit across the
n
fi eld of obs ervati on so sl ow as to p rod uc e l ong w ai ts b etw een obs ervati ons In a time set, .

chos en as ab ove, O bs ervati on u p on the azimuth st ar in each h alf set s erves p rincip ally to
d et ermi ne the azimuth error of the i nstru ment , but has littl e effect up on the c omp ut ed time,
si nc e thi s is al most ind ep end ent of the azimuth error (the su of the A f act ors of the ti me m
st ars b ei ng nearly z ero for each h alf set) Wh ere only app roxim at e time is req uired , the
.

m m
nu b er oftime st ars in a h alf set ayb e red uc ed to two, one north and one s outh ofthe z enith
In high l atitud es (more th an ab out it is not f easibl e to s ecu re ti e s ets wi th w ell m
b al anc ed A factors, sinc e the st ars b etween the z enith and the p ol e h ave c o p aratively sm al l
'

m
m
A f act ors , whi ch b ec om e rel atively still s al l er aft er w eights are assigned This c ondi ti on .

W
p revents any but a c omp aratively eak d et erminati onof the az imuth error of the i nstru ment ' ‘

In s uch l atitud es it is th eref ore d esirabl e to s el ect s ets of st ars whi ch will b e s ol ved by ri gid
l eas t squ are methods U nd er norm al c ondi ti ons th ere sh oul d b e six st ars in each h alf set
-
.
,

and whil e the al g eb raic su m of the A f act ors in each h alf set sh ould b e k ep t as s mall as can b e
c onveniently d one no very sl ow movi ng st ars sh ould b e i nt rod uc ed for this p urp os e O ne
,
-
.

az imuth st ar with a d ecl inati on b etw een 5 5 and 7 5 sh oul d b e s el ect ed and obs erved b el ow
° °

the p ol e .

The p reliminary or fi eld c omp ut ati ons may b e m ad e lik e th at sh own on p ag e 2 6 The .

fi nal l east squ are c omp ut ati ons are mad e at the ofli ce .

As has al ready b een st at ed ( p the p ref erenc e is now gi ven to the A meric anE ph emeris
.

over oth er st ar lists as it c ont ai ns the app arent pl ac es of m ore st ars th an oth er avail abl e c at ar
,

l ognes I t is w ell to obt ai n all st ars wh en p ossibl e f rom a si ngl e c at al ogu e bu t this is not
.
, , ,

ess enti al I t mayb e c onsid ered as al most ess enti al c ert ai nly so from an ec onomic st andp oi nt
.
, ,

to use on l y st ars for whi ch app arent pl ac es are p ublish ed The ti me and l ab or c onsu med in .

c omputing the app arent right ascension of st ars for whi ch only mean pl ac es are avail abl e
add to the c ost of b oth the fi eld and offic e w ork F urth ermore it w ill b e f ou nd th at suffici ent
.
,

st ars can b e s el ect ed for all time work in the north ern h emisph ere from such c at al og u es as the

Americ an E ph em eris and N autic al Al manac or the Berli ner Ast ronomisch es J ahrbuch and the ,

s el ec tion of mean pl ac e st ars is unnec ess ary .

D E T E RMINA T I O N OF E Q UA T O RIA L IN T E R V AL S .

The eq uat ori al i nt ervals of the li nes of the di aph rag m are need ed to re d uc e i ncompl et e
transits . ( See p .
 U . S. COA ST AND G E O D E T IC U VEY
S R S PECIA L P U BL ICA T I O N NO . 1 4.

To d et ermi ne th ese s el ect c ompl et e t ransi ts O f s tars

,
d eclinati on ofl arg e .

tj b e the obs erved ti mes of t ransit over the succ essi ve li nes tm th eir

“
L et t, , t2 , t3 1 , ,

mean, and i i 2 , is i th eir eq uatori al i ntervals from the m ean line and 5 the d eclinati on
l

ofthe st ar:
1
af uf u
E ,

i, ( t, tm) cos 5
i2 ( t2 tm) cos 3
etc .

i n = ( tn— tm) cos 6

0 = t +a +a

The i ntervals of the li ne

}l of the

p o e (as for 8 U
m ean li ne will th en b e
Min Ceph ei
F or s t ars wit hin 1 0 of the
°
r
s . .
,
51 ,

use the form ul ae :

3
(tl — tm) cos d1 / cos r,

etc.

3/

wh ere r, , r, h our angl es of the circ ump ol ar st ar for the s uccessi ve li nes
are the
W
71 ,
tu .

h en it is nec ess ary to use the m ore ex ac t formul a for circumpolars as gi ven ab ove the ,

t abl e on p age 3 2 will b e f ou nd c onveni ent .

I f the chronom et er rat e exc eeds 1 5 per day it will b e d esirabl e to t ak e i t i nt o acc ou nt in
8

c omp uting the equ at ori al i nt ervals .

A c onveni ent f orm for the c omput ati on of equ at ori al i ntervals foll ows The obs ervati ons .

us ed were m ad e by Assis tant Frem ont M ors e at Si tk a Al ask a in 1 894 wi th M eridi an T el esc op e , , ,

N o 7 and by the eye and ear m eth od

.
,
.

D raconis 22’ 2 7x L og cos . ClampW est . .

The q uanti ti es ( t — ,
tm) , ( tz — tm), etc., for each d at e w ere t ak en directly from the rec ord of
ob servati ons .

The eq uat ori al i ntervals w ere th us c omp uted f rom obs ervati ons up on three di ff erent st ars
and the m eans t ak en .

I t is not nec ess ary to m ak e sp eci al observati ons to d et ermi ne the equat ori al i nt ervals .

Compl et e t ransits obs erved d uri ng the reg ul ar p rogress of time obs ervati ons may b e utili z ed
for th at p u rp ose I f O bs ervati ons up on s tars of l arg e d ecli nati on are not avai l abl e obs erva
.
,

tions up on st ars ofsm all d eclinati on may b e us ed and will b e f ou nd to gi ve alm ost as accu rat e ,

val ues for the equ at ori al i ntervals

W
.

henp ress ed for tim e in the fi eld ani nc ompl et e t ransi t ofa s tarmayb e reduc ed by assu m i ng
th at actu al i nt ervals b etween li nes on th at s tar are the s am e as on s ome p rec eding d at e on
whi ch a c omplet e transit of th at s t ar w as obs erved at th at st ati on The f orm l ae on p ag e 32 . u
may th en b e us ed by dropping the f act or sec 8 and s ubs tit uting act ual i nt ervals for equ at ori al
int ervals .

P I V O T IN E Q UA L I TY .

The pi vot i nequ ali ty sh ould d etermi ned wi th the i nst rum ent m ou nt ed up on a very
be
st abl e pi er ih a room in which the rate of ch ang e of t emp eratu re is s mall d uring the obs erva
tions The obs ervati ons c onsist of a s eri es ofreadi ngs of the s tri di ng l evel as i ndi c at ed in the
.
 D E T E R MINA TION OF T I ME .
45

ex a mpl e ofrec ord andcomp ut ati on gi ven b el ow The not ati on is the s am e as on p ag es 2 2 2 3
.
—

th at is flw and £ i ndic ate the app arent i ncli nati on of the t el esc op e axi s in each ofits tw o p osi
, 6

ti 0 ns as gi ven direc tly by the readi ngs of the s t riding l evel Th en the pi vot i neq uality .

fi flw
l
e
29
:

and is to be exp res sed in s ec onds of ti me .

O bservati onsfor i nequali tyofpi vots o

ftransit, N o 1 9 . .

i
[Stat on, A tl anta , G a, . Mar . 1 2, 1 896 . G . R . P .
, b
o server ] .

Ban dw est

Obj ect gl a ss sout h

Ti me

L eve l L eve l
W . end E . end

07 5

081

0 38

1 69

38 1 0 03 a .

Ban dw est

Obj ect gl a ss nort h Obj ect gl a

ss sout h
Ti me

L eve l L eve l

0 7 a. m
.

050

01 9

02 5

27 a . m
.

w est
ob j ect glass ,

north ,
and b and cast, ob j ect
glass south
can, b and
ob j ect g ass w est, l
south, and b and cast, ob j ect

glass north

striding level = 1 ”

0 nd oftl me
 U . S
. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC S R U VE Y SPEC IAL PU BLICA T ION N O . 1 4.

In d et ermi ni ng the pi vot i neq uality the l evel readi ngs are m ad e as in obs ervi ng t ime ,

reversi ng the t el esc op e b etw een the readi ngs O b servati ons sh ould b e m ad e in tw o group s
. ,

reversi ng the rel ati on b etw eenthe p ositi ons ofthe b and andobj ect gl ass as sh own in the ex ampl e .

This is d one to p arti all y eli mi nat e the eff ect ofthe pi vot s not b eing t ruly ci rcul ar in cross s ecti on .

In the ex ampl e sh own th ere is a sys t ematic th ough uni mp ortant di ff erenc e in p for the two
p osi ti ons A c ompl et e i nvestig ati on of the pi vots w ould i nvol ve l evel readi ngs at all angl es
.

from the z eni th from 0 to b ut the ordinary f orm of l evel will not p ermi t readi ngs cl oser
°
,

th an 30 or andst ars are not oft en obs erved m ore th an 5 0 from the z eni th Inthe ex ampl e
° °
.

gi ven the obs ervati ons were from3 8 to 48 z eni th dist anc e l ess w eight b ei ng gi ven to the l att er
° °
,

angl e at whi ch few s tar obs ervati ons are m ad e .

A l ess s atisf act ory val ue for the pi vot i nequ ality may b e obt ai ned f rom the l evel readi ngs
m ad e in c onnecti on wi th the time obs ervati ons .

Si nc e the c orrecti on for pi vot i nequ ali ty has opp osi te signs for the tw o h al ves ofa tim e set ,

its eff ect on the d et ermi ned cl ock c orrec ti on is very sm all for a set whi ch has the s ame numb er
of st ar s in each h alf The q uesti on of wh en the pi vot i neq uality c orrec ti on is to b e appli ed
.

and wh en not sh ould b e d ecid ed aft er a c onsid erati on of the abs ol ut e val ue of the c orrec ti on
,

b ut the di ff erenc e in the sums of the Bf ac tors for the tw o h alf s ets sh ould als o b e c onsid ered
Mos t ofthe i nstruments us ed at p res ent in this Survey h ave had th eir pi vot s refi nish ed and th eir
.

pivot i neq uali ty mad e p ractic ally z ero W

i th th es e i ns truments it is not us ual ly nec ess ary
.

to c onsid er this c orrecti on w h en maki ng the c omp utati ons for ti me .

D E T E RMINA T I O N OF L E V E L V A L UE .

The m ost acc urate w ay of d et ermi ni ng di vi si on of a l evel is by m eans of

the val ue of one
a l evel t ri er w hich c onsis ts of a b ar the s upp ort of which at one end is a mic romet er sc rew
-

, .

The l evel t ub e to b e test ed is pl ac ed on thi s b ar The m eth od of obs ervi ng and c omputi ng is
.

Sh ow n in the f oll owi ng ex ampl e In the l evel tri er us ed one di visi on of the mi cromet er h ead
'

-
.

eq uals one sec ond of are ; th at is a m ovement of one di visi on ch ang es the ang ul ar p ositi on of
,

the b ar by one s ec ond The firs t p art of thes e obs ervati ons w as si mply for the p urp os e oft est
.

ing the u niformi ty of the t ub e ch angi ng the angl e by 5 ” i nt ervals

, In d et erm i ni ng the l evel .

val ue ab out the s ame l eng th ofb ubbl e is empl oyed th at is us ed in the fi eld obs ervati ons .
 U . S. COA ST AND GEO D E T IC U VE Y
S R PECIAL PU B LICA T ION NO
S . 1 4.

DI SCU SSI O N OF E RROR S .

The i ous
var s whi ch aff ect the final res ult of any ast ronomi c obs ervati on may b e
error

group ed i nt o three s ep arat e cl ass es w i th resp ect to th eir s ourc es and c ons equently the pre ,

c au ti ons whi ch m ust b e t ak en ag ai nst th em f all und er the s ame g eneral h eads Th ey are .

n l s isi ng f m n diti n s outsid th e obs erver; ( 2 ) instrum ea

( )
1 E x ter a errors or erro r a r ro
,
co o e

errors due to the i nst rum ent and arisi ng from imp erf ect c on u
st cti
r on 1
or imp erf ect c ondi ti on
, ,

of the i nst rum ent from i nst ability of the rel ati ve p ositi ons of the dif
,
ferent p arts etc , ( 3 ) ,
.

observer s errors due di rectly to the obs erver arising from his u navoid abl e errors of j udgm ent
’
, ,

as to wh at he sees andh ear

“
s andfrom the f act th at nerves and b rai n do not act i ns tant aneously
By the phras e Errors of observation is m eant the c ombi ned errors arisi ng from all th es e
”
.

s ourc es
The p ri ncip al external errors in tran
.

sit obs ervati ons for tim e aris e from errors in the assum ed
ri ght asc ensi ons ofthe s tars and from l at eral refracti on ofthe light from the s tars .

I f the ri ght asc ensi ons of all stars obs erved are t aken from the Americ an E ph em eris and
N au tic al A lmanac or the Berliner Astronomisch es J ahrbuch the p rob abl e error of a right ,

asc en si on will b e up on an averag e ab out i 0 03 exc ept f or st ars ofl arg e d ecli nati on for wh
.
8
i ch , ,

this es tim at e must b e i ncreas ed The ri ght asc ensi ons are subj ect als o to sm all c onst ant errors
.

wi th whi ch the g eod esist is h ardly concerned b ec aus e of th eir sm allness and b ec aus e th ey are
W
,

almost c ompl et ely elimi nat ed from his final results h en the s am e st ars are us ed at b oth .

st ati ons in d et ermi ning a diff erenc e of l ongitu d e the errors of the right asc ensi ons are com
pletely elimi nat ed fromthe d et ermi ned dif ferenc e ofl ongit ud e .

I f one c onsid ers how sm all are the l at eral refracti ons which aff ec t m eas urem ents of h ori
z ontal angl es and azimuth obs ervati ons in wh i ch li nes ofsight are cl os e to the ground it s eems
, ,

c ertai n th at the effec ts of l at eral refracti on u p on t ransit t im e obs ervati ons in whi ch all li nes
of sight are el evat ed high ab ove the h or i z on mus t b e alm ost or q uit e i napp reci abl e Thi s is .

p rob ably the c as e wh enever p rop er p rec au ti ons are t ak en to avoid l oc al refracti on wi t hin a few
feet of the i nst rum ent I f h ow ever the t emp erat ure withi n the obs ervat ory is much ab ove
.
, ,

th at outsid e or if acti ve chimneys or oth er p ow erful s ourc es of h eat are near the obs ervat ory
, ,

w arm columns ofair ri sing from or p assi ng over the obs ervat ory may p roduc e a s ensibl e l at eral
refrac ti on The l at eral refracti on is i ncl ud ed wi t h m any oth er errors from whi ch i t can not
.
,

be s ep arat ed in the c ulmi nati on error

, estim at ed on p ag es 3 8 — 9
3 ,
.

In addi ti on to the l ateral refracti on ref erred to in the p rec eding p aragraph and t acitly
assum ed to b e c onst ant duri ng the i nt erval of a few s ec onds in whi ch a st ar is b ei ng obs erved
up on th ere are us ually m om ent ary l at eral refrac ti ons whi ch s erve m erely to m ak e the app arent
,
’
rate ofp rogress ofthe st ar vari abl e and to m ak e the obs erver s errors great er th an th ey oth er
wis e w ould b e .

Among the i nstrumental errors in transit obs ervati ons for tim e may b e m enti oned th os e
arisi ng f rom the chronog raph and the reading of the chronograph sh eet f rom p oor f ocusing , ,

from nonvertic ali ty of the microm et er wire or of the lines of the di aphragm from ch ang es in ,

azi muth and c olli m ati on f rom errors in the m easured c o , llim ati on from errors in the m eas ured ,

incli nati on from irregul ari ty ofpi vots and from ch ang es in the rate of the chronom et er
, , .

All of th es e exc ep t the firs t tw o are i ncl ud ed in the c ulmi nati on error as esti mat ed ,

on p ag es 3 8 and 3 9 .

As already not ed the ch ronographs of the f orm now us ed O p erat e so w ell th at no appreci
abl e error is i nt rod uc ed by the ass ump ti on th at the sp eed oi the chronograph is c onst ant b etw een
s ucc essi ve breaks ofthe chronomet er The chronograph sh eet is read to h undredths ofs ec onds
.

for the exch ange of arbitrary sig nal s b etw een st ati ons in t el egraphi c l ongit ud e w ork In .

obs ervati ons m ad e wi th an obs ervi ng key m arki ng the tim es of t ransit across the li nes of a
'

di aphragm the chronograph rec ord ofthe obs ervati ons is read for each li ne to the nearest
,

Byimperfect constructionis h ere meant the fail ure tosatisfy f ully the rigid geometri c condi tions i mposed by th eory b ut necessaril y attained
'

out imperfactl y by the instrument maker as forexampl e the condi tionth at the cross secti onofa pi vot sh ould b e a p erfect circl e and rem ainso
,

i h fo meant toimply poorconstruction that is constructi onmuch b l ow th bl d gr x l

, , , .

m fect construct on is t
I per ere renot , , e e attaina e e ee ofe ce lence.
 DE T E R MINA T ION OF T I ME . 49

Byso d oi ng p rob abl e error of ab out j ;

,
a on each singl e li ne is i nt rod uc ed i nt o the readings ;
b ut thi s is too sm all in c omp aris on wi th the oth er errors c onc erned in transit w ork to w arrant
a cl os er readi n g In obs ervati ons m ad e wi th a t ransit eq uipp ed with a t ransit mi crom et er
.
,

wh ere 2 0 obs ervati ons on each s t ar are rec ord ed the chronograph rec ord of th es e obs ervati ons ,

is read to the neares t The prob abl e error ofa si ngl e record ( p ositi on ofmicrom et er wi re)
from thi s s ou rc e is ab out bu t the nu mb er of s uch rec ords obt ai ned on a s tar m ak es the
p rob abl e error ofthe m ean ofth es e obs ervati ons l ess th an i O fiO l sh owi ng th at a cl os er reading ,

of the chronograph sh eet is not j ustifiabl e .

P oor f ocusi ng of ei th er the obj ecti ve or the eyepi ec e l eads to i ncreas ed acci dent al errors
b ec aus e of p oor d efi ni ti on But p oor f ocusi ng of the obj ecti ve is esp eci ally obj ecti onabl e
.
,

b ec aus e it p uts the di aphragm (or pl ane ofthe microm eter wire) and the s tar imag e in different
pl anes andso p rod uces p arall ax The p arall ax errors mayb e avoid ed to a l arg e ex tent by k eep
,
.

ing the ey epi ec e c ent ered c aref ull y over the p art of the di aph ragm which is b ei ng obs erved
u p on if p rop er l ongitudi nal m oti on of the ey epi ec e is p rovid ed for th at p urp os e
,
.

If the lines of the di ap hragm do not m ake an angl e ofex actly 90 with the h oriz ont al axis
°

of the tel esc op e a st ar obs erved ab ove or b el ow the middl e of the di aphragm will b e obs erved
too l at e or too early A simil ar error will b e c aus ed in the c as e ofthe transit m
. i c rom et er if the
m ovabl e wire d oes not in each ofits p ositi ons m ak e an angl e of 90 with the h oriz ont al axis
, ,
°
.

E rrors from t hi s s ou rc e may b e m ad e very small by c areful adj ustment and by obs erving within
the narrow limi ts gi ven by tw o h or i z ont al l ines or wires .

The mean errors of azimuth and of collimation b eing det erm ined by the tim e obs ervati ons ,

th ems elves are c anc el ed out from the final result w ith a th oroughness whi ch d ep ends up on the
,

succ ess att ained in s el ec ting st ars The p roc ess of elim inati on d ep ends u p on the ass ump ti on
.

th at the error of azimu th remains c onst ant du ring each h alf set and th at the c ollim ation error
remains c onst ant d uri ng the wh ol e set The changes in th es e errors d uring the intervals nam ed
.
,

aris ing f rom ch ang es of t emp erat ure sh ocks to the instru ment or oth er c aus es p rodu c e errors
, , ,

in the final result T h es e errors will evid ently b e s mall er the m ore rapidl y the obs ervati ons are
.

m ad e the m ore c arefully the inst rum ent is h andl ed and the more symmetric al and c onst ant
, ,

are the t emp erat ure c onditi ons In g eneral th es e errors are s mall b ut not inapp reci abl e
.
, In .

this c onnect ion the st ability of the pi er on which the instrument rests is ofesp eci al imp ort anc e ,

andals o the d egree to whi ch it is p rot ect ed fromsh ocks s uch as f

’
or inst anc e the obs erver s w alk , ,

ing in its im medi at e vicinity if th ere is no fl oor to the obs ervat ory or t ent
,
.

I t is m ainl y in the light ofthe p rec ed ing p aragrap h th at the nu mb er ofst ars to b e obs erved
in a tim e set m ust b e d et erm ined I f the numb er ofs t ars in a t im e set and the l ength of time
.

over which it ext ends b e inc reas ed the errors due to accu mul at ed ch ang es in the az imu th and
,

c oll im ation are increas ed O n the oth er h and if the nu mb er of s t ars is d ecreas ed b el ow the
.
,

p res ent st and ard ( 1 2 ) the numb er ofobs ervations rapidl y app roach es equ ality with the numb er
of u nknowns and the acc uracy with which the u nknowns are d et ermined d ec reas es very

rapidly From th es e c onsid erati ons it w ould s eem th at 1 2 st ars per set is ab out the m ost
.

m
ad vant ag eous nu b er wh en t e h h i gh est d egree of accu racy is d esired 1
Und er norm al c ondi .

ti ons this numb er invol ves the nec essity of d ep end ing up on the c onst ancy of the instrum ent in
azimuth f or ab ou t 3 0 minu t es and in c ollimati on for ab out 1 h ou r If great er accu racy is .

d esired th an can b e ob t ained from a set of 1 2 st ars it is nec ess ary to c ontinue obs erving h alf ,

s ets of6 st ars each with a revers al ofthe instrum ent in its wyes b etw een each tw o h alfs ets bu t
, ,

the numb er ofst ars in a h alf set sh ould not b e m at eri all y inc reas ed .

To a c onsid erabl e ext ent the prec eding tw o p aragraphs als o apply to the inclination error .

The changes in inclinati on duri ng each h al f set p roduc e errors in addi ti on to th os e aris ing from
u ncert ainty as to the m ean inclination h enc e ag ain the d es irability of rapid m anipul ati on , .

The m ean inclinationis d et ermined from the indic ations of the st riding l evel which are m ore ,

or l ess in error ferent obs ervers s eem to d iff er radic ally as to the p rob abl e m agni tud e of
D if .

l Wh nonly a minord g
e e ree ofacc urac y i d ir d
s es e , the nu mb erofstars may ofcourse , , be much l ess th an1 2 .

81 36° —1 3 —4
 U . S.
COA ST AN D GEODE T IC S RV U EY S E P CIA L P U BLI CA T ION N O . 14 .

rom h n v
s f thi s c
s our e b u t th b s t obs rv rs a re p rone to us e t e s tr idi g l e el wi th gr eat c are
error e e e .
e

However small this error may b e u nd er the b est c onditi ons and most s killful m anip ul ations
,

th ere can b e no doubt th at c areless h andling of the st ri ding l evel or a littl e h eedl ess ness ab out ,

b ring ing a w arm read ing l amp too nearit 1 mayeasily make this error one ofthe l argest aff ecting ,

h
t e re sult A n error of in c h in the d ete rm inati o n of th e d iff er en c e of el evati on of the

tw o pi vots ofa t ransit lik e th at sh own in ill ustrati on N o 1 p rod uc es an error ofmore th an
.

in the d educ ed t ime of t ransi t ofa st ar near the z eni th .

The meth od oft reating the l evel read ings given on p ag e 2 2 is b as ed up on tw o ass umptions
F irst th at the indic ati ons of the st riding l evel are not s ufficiently accu rate to d etermi ne the
,

s mall changes ofi nclinati on d uring the p rogress ofa h alf set and s ec ond th at if ( as is g enerally , , ,

the c as e) th ere is any sys tematic d iff erence b etw een the inc linati on as d efined by l evel read ings
wi th obj ec ti ve northw ard and wi th obj ective southw ard the mean of th es e tw o inclinati ons is
the req ui red most p rob abl e valu e c orresp ondi ng to i nt ermedi at e p osi ti ons of the t el esc op e in
which it p oints to st ars near the z eni th ( ti me s tars ) Th ere may b e indi vid ual c as es in which .

the fi rst ofth es e ass umpti ons sh ould b e revers ed and each st ar t ransit reduc ed by us ing the l evel
read ing which is nearest to i t in tim e up on the s upp ositi on th at the act ual ch ang es of ineli ,

nati on are so l arg e th at the l evel i ndic ati ons furnish a real measure of th em In g eneral .
,

h owever the m eth od of t reating the l evel read ings sh own on p ag es 2 1 2 3 is p rob ably the b est
’
-
- .
,

The errors in the c omp ut ed time arising from inequalityand irregular tyofpivots are prob
i

ably negligibl e for fi rst cl ass instruments in g ood c ondi ti on Any s mall error in the ad opt ed
-
.

m ean val ue of the i neq uality will app ear in the c omp ut ati on with nearly its f ull val ue in the
d erived error of c ollim ati on bu t will b e almost c ompl etel yelimi nat ed f rom the comp ut ed ,

chronometer c orrection I t is only the diference of the i rreg ul ariti es of the tw o p ivots which .

aff ec t the obs erved t in ies and it sh ould b e noted th at c orresp ondi ng p oints on the tw o pi vots ,

are alw ays und er ab out the s ame p ress ure at the s ame ti me and th at th eref ore irregul ariti es ,

due to w ear tend to b e the s ame for the tw o pi vots

'

Changes in the rate ofthe chronometer du ring the p rogress of a set ofobs ervati ons evid ently
p rod uc e errors in the c omp ut ed ch ronomet er c orrec tion at the mean ep och of the set Und er .

ord i n ary c irc umst anc es s uch errors must b e exc eedingly s mall I f h ow ever an obs erver is .
, ,

f orc ed to use a p oor t imepi ec e or ifcl ouds interf ere so as to ext end the time req uired to mak e ,

a set of obs ervati ons over s everal h ours this error may b ec ome app reci abl e ,
.

The observer s errors are by far the most s eri ous ofanycl ass oferrors in t ransit obs ervati ons
’

for ti me The obs erver is s ubj ect to b oth accid ent al and c onst ant errors in his obs ervati ons
.
2

of the ti mes of t ransit and in h i s readi ngs of the st ridi ng l evel The l evel readi ng errors (s uch .

as errors in esti mati ng t enths ) are i napp reci abl e in th ei r eff ect up on the c omp ut ed ti me b ut ,

the errors in obs er vati ons of ti me of t ransit ent er i nt o the c omp ut ed ti me w i th f ull val ue
obs erver s accid ent al errors are es ti mated und er the h eadi ng
’
R el ati ve eights to T ransi ts
The
“ W
.

”
D ep endi ng on the Star s D ec li nati on ( pp 3 8 and
’
His c onst ant error in esti mati ng the .

1 l gi di l tion of th pp i nn u f of l v l vi l i m d n ly p rf t i l po ibl I f anob v w ill on ld r

The on tu na sec e U er er s r ace a e e a s a e as ear a e ec c rc e as ss e. ser er c s e

how gr at thi e di u of u v tu i in n i iv iding l v l h will und nd whyv y m ll d fo m tion ofth l v l vi l by un q ual h ng

s ra s c r a re s asc s t estr e c e ersta er s a e r a s e e e a e c a cs
oft mp tu h v ma k d fl t up on th p o i ion ofth b ubbl Th di u of urv u fo l v l ofwhi h h di vi ioni 2mm l ong and
'

e era re a ea r e e ec e st e e. e ra s c at re ra e e c eac s s

equi v l nt to 1 } ond ofa i mo th n300 n ( ab out 1 000 f t)

ae sec s rc s re a i ee .

Indi u ing
2 o
sc ss and p i lly wh ndi u ing th mwi h
err rs, f n to th irul i m ff t it i q ui t i mpo nt to k p l arly in mind
es ec a e sc ss e t re ere ce e t ate e ec s, s e rta ec ce
th di tin ti on b tw na id ntal rror
e s c s eon t n or
ee nd y t m ti
cc or e A n t nt ro i on whi h ha th am ff t up on all th
e s, c s a t err s, a s se a c err s co s a er r s e c s es e e ec e
ob rv tion ofth i o p o i on of i und on id ti n A id n l not on t n f omob v i on to ob v ti n; th y
.

se a s e ser es r rt a ser es er c s era o cc e ta errors are c sa t r ser at ser a o e are

i u a pl u and th y p um bly foll ow th law of o whi h i th b i of h th o y ofl t q u A y t m ti
.

a pt tob mn
sa e s s s, e res a o i on of e err r c s e as s t e e r eas s ares s se a c err r s e
whi h th alg b i ig n and to t in x t nt th magni ud b r a fix d r l ionto om ondi tiono t f ondi ion Th u fo x mpl
.

c e e ra c s a cer a e e e t e, ea s e e at s ec rse o c t s s, re a e,

“
th ph r o inob v tion ofh iz ont l d ir ti n i y t m i wi h p t to th azi muth ofth un nd of h l in of ight Th xp r ion
, , ,

i of nu d l oo ly in on di tin tionto “id n l

.

e ase e r r ser a s or a ec o s ss s e at c t res ec e es a t e e s ee ess

or in u h a w y to i n l ud b o h t i ly on t nt rro
.

” ”
on tant
c s o err r s te se se c tr
a s nd y c acc e ta err s c a as c e t s r ct c s a e rs a s s
Th ff t ofa id n l rror up onth final ul t m yb di mini h d by ontinu d p ti ti onof h ob vati on nd by th l a t
,

t m ti
e o
a cerr rs. e e ec cc e ta e s e res a e s e c e re e t e ser sa e e s
sq u m hod of omp ut ti on Th ff t of on nt o nd of y t ma i rro mu t b li min d by oth r p o ; for x mpl by
are et c a . e e ec s c sta err rs a s se tce rs s ee ate e r cesses e a e,
h nging th m thod orp ogramof ob rv tion by p i l inv tig tion o p i l ob v tion d ig n d to v l u te on t nt rro or to
c a e e r se a s, s ec a es a s r S ec a ser a s es e e a a ac sa e r
d t min th x t l w of y t m ti o Th abov di cu ion ppli wi h full fo in of th ob rv ri dir tly con n d to or
e er e e e ac a as s e a c err r. e e s ss a es t rce, s ar as e se e s ec cer e err s
a i ing f omi mp rf t p p iono j udg m n h h ntobl und r o mi t k u h ding l v l fiv di vi ion wrong or ti m ting ati m
,

rs r e ec erce t r e t rat ert a es r s a es, s c asrea a e e e s s es a e

on ond wrong
e sec I f a mi k i o l rg th i i ugh t by h h k whi h a u d f that p urpo it i u u lly without ff t uponth
. sta e s s a e at t s ca t e c ec s c re se or se s s a e ec e
comp ut d ul t in it i ith co
e res t d orth ob
s vati on on rn d i
ce se j t d A mi k whi h i n t c ugh t i in i ff t uponth om
er rrec e e ser c ce e s re ec e sta e c s o a s, ts e ec ec

put d r ul t na id ntal o and if p op h k h av b nu d to d t mi t k will li wi h in th li mi ofmag ni tud ofth id nt l

.
,

e es a cc e err r r erc ec s e ee se etec s a es, t ts e acc a

-

e e e e
A i mli d i tin ionb tw n in t um nt l or and in um nt l bl und r may b d w n for xampl a bl und rath han or
, ,

error s. s ar s ct e ee sr e a err s str e a es e ra ; e e, er er t err is

cau s d by th mov m nt of nobj
e e ti v whi h i l oo init
e e ll a ec e c s se s ce .
 D E T E R MI N A T IO N OF T I ME .

time oftransit w hen observing wi th a key or by the eye and ear meth od is kn ow n as p ers onal , ,

equ ati on and may amount to h alf a s e con d or e ven a w h ol e s e con d in an ext rem e c as e In .

ob s e rvation s wi th a tran s it mic romet er this error if it e x is ts at all is very s mall and may b e
negl ect ed The p ersonal e q uation and the meth ods of m eas uri ng it and of elimi n atin g i t from
.
,

the fi n al res ults will b e t reat ed more f ully in c onnecti on wi th l ongit ud e d et ermi nati ons In
,
.

the s ame pl ac e w ill b e f ound a disc ussi on ofthe d at a which i ndic at e th at the p ersonal eq uati on
in obs ervati ons mad e w ith a t ransit mic romet er is so s mall th at it may b e negl ec ted inl ongitud e
w ork .

To sumup it mayb e s tat ed th at ,

d et ermi nati on ofa ch ronometer
the accidenta l error i n the

c orrecti on f rom obs ervati ons wi th a p ortabl e t ransi t i ns trument up on tw el ve s t ars may b e
red uc ed wi thi n li m i ts i ndic ated by a p rob abl e error of f rom to How ever in ,

obs ervati ons mad e wi th out the t ransit mic rometer the ch ronometer c orrec ti on mayb e s ubj ec t to
s onal eq uati on which may b e many ti mes as
’
a l arge constant error the obs erver s abs ol ut e p er , ,

rea t as the p rob abl e ( accid ent al ) error I f the obs ervati ons h ave b een mad e w i th the t ransit
g .

mic romet er th ere is p ractic ally no p ers onal eq uati on and the res ults may b e c onsid ered f ree
, ,

f rom c onst ant errors due to th at s ourc e .

O T HE R M E T H O D S OF D E T E RMI N I N G T I ME .

In the is s ometi mes nec ess ary to use oth er i ns truments as t ransits for the determi
fi eld it
nati on oi time A th eod oli te , w h en so us ed , is apt to gi ve res ults ofa high er d egree of acc uracy
.

th an w ould b e exp ect ed f rom an i ns trument of its siz e, unl ess one has in mind th at the p rinci
pal errors in t ransit ti me obs ervati ons are th os e due di rectly to the obs erver O n the oth er .

h and z eni th t el esc op es of the f orm in whi ch the t el esc op e d oes not swi ng in a pl ane p assi ng
,

th rough the vertic al axis of the i ns trument h ave b een f ound to give dis app oi nti ng res ul ts w h en
u sed in the meridi an for ti me p erh aps b ec aus e of the asy mmet ry of the i nst rument and of the
,

f act th at th ere can b e no revers al ofthe h oriz ont al axis inits b eari ngs b ut only ofthe i nstrument ,

as a w h ol e The time may h ow ever b e th us d et ermi ned wi th s uffici ent acc uracy for use in
.
, ,

connecti on wi th d et erm i nati ons ofl ati tud e w ith the z enith t el esc op e ‘
.

The d et ermi nati on ofti me by the use ofthe t ransit in any p osi ti on out of the merid an has
b een ad voc at ed b ut has not s eemed ad vis abl e The addi tional di ffic ulty of maki ng the com
,
.

p ut ati on over th at for a transi t nearly in the meridi an and oth er i ncid ent al i nc onveni enc es
, , ,

much more th an offset the f act th at the adj ust ment for putti ng the t ransit in the meridi an is -

th en unnec ess ary .

The use ofthe t ransi t in the vertic al pl ane p ass i ng th rough P ol aris at the ti me ofobs erva
ti on has b een ad voc ated and has b een us ed to a c onsid erabl e ext ent in E urop e and in Canad a
, .

I t is not us ed by this Survey The ad vant ag e of this meth od over the meridi an m eth od is
.

th at the st abil ity of the i ns trument is d ep end ed up on for only ab out 5 mi nut es i nst ead of 30
mi nut es or more This meth od is op en th ough to a l ess ext ent to the obj ecti ons st at ed in
.
, ,

the p rec edi ng p aragraph ag ai nst the meth od of obs ervi ng in any p ositi on out of the meridi an .

I f a mark nearly in the meridi an has b een est ablish ed and i ts azimuth d et ermined the
chronomet er c orrec ti on may b e d etermined at noon wi thin a h alf s ec ond byobs erving the
transit of the sun as f oll ows : P oi nt on the meridi an mark j us t b ef ore app arent noon; obs erve
the t ransit of the p rec edi ng li mb of the sun ac ross the l i nes of the di aph rag m; revers e th e

h orizont al axis of the tel esc op e and obs erve the transit of the f oll ow ing li mb across the li nes of
the di ap hrag m I f the transit mic romet er is us ed the w es t li mb of the sun is f oll ow ed ac ross
.
,

the c enter of the fi eld by the mic romet er wi re and th en the t el esc op e is revers ed and the eas t ,

li mb is f oll ow ed by the wire The rec ord ofobs ervati ons on each li mb is rec ord ed aut omatic ally
.

on the chronog raph The s triding l evel sh ould b e read j us t b ef ore the t ransit of the prec ed ing
.

limb and j us t aft er the t ransit of the f oll owi ng li mb The mean of all the obs erved ti mes is .

the chronom et er ti me of t ransit of the s un s c enter ac ross the pl ane of the i ns trument
’
This .

1 F or method sofd etermining ti me wi th a z eni th telescop e by using it asan eq ual al ti tud e i nstrument see C oast Survey R ep ort for 1 869
-
A pp en
pp
, ,

dix N o 1 2 ,
. . 226 23 2.-
 U . S . CO A ST AN D G E O D E T I C SU R VE Y S PE CI A L P U BLIC A T IO N N O . 1 4.

time c orrected for azimuth error as d et ermi ned by the p oint ing on the meri di an m ark and for
, ,

i nclinati on is the chronomet er time of the su n s t ransit across the meri di an D uring the
,
’
.

obs ervati ons the inst rument sh ould be sh elt ered from the direct rays of the sun This mayb e .

d one by h angi ng in front ofi t a cl oth with a h ol e cut in it opp osit e the obj ective This meth od .

ofd et erm i ning time mays ometimes b e f ound d es irabl e in c onnecti on with chronometric determi
nati ons of l ongit ud e in A l ask a wh en c onti nuous cl oudy weath er p revents s t ar observati ons .

Wh en s ett ing up a t ransit at a new s t ati on it is s om eti mes d if fic ult to get a cl os e approx i
m ati on to the l oc al ti me wi th whi ch to mak e the first s etti ng of the transit in the meridi an .

The f oll owing meth od has b een us ed to f urnish a rough val ue of the l oc al time and m ak es it ,

p ossibl e to put the i nstrument so cl os ely in the meridi an on the initi al tri al th at th ere is al mos t
no ti me l ost from the reg ul ar obs ervati ons A t a li ttl e b ef ore l oc al noon c ommenc e obs ervi ng
W
.

the sun f oll owi ng it by moving the t el esc op e b oth in az imuth and altitu d e
,
hil e the sun is .

still risi ng app reci ably cl amp the t el esc op e in altit ud e and mark the time of the t ransit of the
, ,

sun s limbs across the h oriz ont al wire of the t el esc op e; th en k eep ing the t el esc op e fix ed in
’

al tit ud e swing it slightly inazi muth to m eet the d esc ending sun andmark the transit ofthe s un s
’

li mbs across the s ame w ire as b efore The mean ofthe ti mes will b e app roxi mat ely the chronom .

eter ti m e of the s un s p ass ag e ac ross the l oc al meridi an and the chronomet er c orrecti on on
’

W
,

app arent s ol ar time can b e d etermi ned and fi nally its c orrecti on on l oc al sid ereal time i th ,
.

this c orrecti on using an az imuth s tar firs t in the fi nal pl aci ng of the i nstrument in azi muth
, ,

it will b e f ound th at tw o app roximati ons will us ually b e all th at are req uired toset the i nstrument
cl os e enough for act ual obs ervati ons ith the meridi an t el esc op e f orm of i nstrument this . W
m eth od may b e easil y and acc urately f oll ow ed .

Sext ant obs ervati ons for time by meas uri ng the altitud e ofthe sun gi ve s uffici ently acc urat e
res ul ts for many p urp os es
1
F or ex ampl e the chronomet er c orrecti onmay th us b e d et ermi ned
.
,

wi th s uffici ent acc uracy for use in z enith t el esc op e d et erminati ons of l ati tud e or in obs ervations
for azi muth mad e up on a ci rc ump ol arst arwi thi nanh ourofel ong ati on I f a sp eci ally c onstruct ed .

vertic al circl e is us ed il l ustrati on N o 8 the ti me may b e d etermined from obs erved al tit ud es
2
,
.
,

of a s t ar or the sun wi th s uffici ent acc uracy for all p urp os es in obs ervati ons for l atitu d e and
az imuth The sun or s t ar sh oul d b e obs erved near the p ri me vertic al if p ossibl e This is the
. .

meth od used at p res ent by nearly all the p arti es ofthis Survey eng aged in l atit ud e and azi muth
obs ervati ons . W
ith ti me obt ained in this w ay azimuth obs ervati ons may b e mad e on P ol aris
at any h our angl e This meth od is also us ed by the fi eld p arti es eng ag ed in making mag netic
.

obs ervati ons 3 As this meth od is so freq uently us ed a s ampl e rec ord of observati ons and of
.

the c omp ut ati ons is given b el ow w i th such expl anati ons as are nec essary .

D E SCRI P T I O N OF THE V E RT I C A L CI RC L E AN D I T S A D J U S TM E NT S
The vertic al circl es in use in the Coast and G eod etic Survey are in g eneral f orm lik e th at , ,

sh ow n in ill us trati on N o 8 . .

The instrument is p rac tic ally a th eod olit e wi th the grad uat ed ci rcl e in a vertic al p osi ti on
and the ax is h oriz ont al wi th the t el esc op e f as tened rigidly to the alid ad e
, The c ircl e and .

alid ad e are f ast ened to a h oriz ont al s upp ort which rests up on the topofa vertic al axis the l att er
.
,

fitting into a st and Th ere is a c ounterp ois e to the ci rcle and alid ad e on the opp osit e sid e ofthe
.

vertic al axis The st and has three l evel ing screw s and th ere mayb e a grad uat ed circl e near its
.
,

b as e for m eas uring h oriz ont al angl es app roximat ely .

1 F or conven ent i
in tru ti on fo mul nd tabl fo x tant ob v tion fo ti m and h pp oxi m t a tronomi
s c s, r as, a es rse ser a s r e ot era r ae s c method s see Bowdi tch 8 ’

A mri an Pra ti al Navig o publi h d by th U S N vy D p tm nt

e c c c at r, s e e . . a e ar e
,

Su h an in trum nt i u d inob rving v r i al ngl o z n i h di tan in p i mary t i ngul ti on Th ir l h i

.

c s e s se se et c a es r e t s ces r ra a e c ce of t ese nstru ments are

f om8 to 1 0 i n h in dia m t nd ar gr d u d v ry a u ly
. s
r c es e er a e a ate e cc rate
S p 45 Dir ti on for M agn ti Ma u mnt C oa t and G od ti Su rv y
.

‘ ee ec s e c e s re e s,
.
, s e e c e .
 No
.

VE R Tl CA L C I R C LE
.
 U . S. CO A ST AN D G EO D E T IC U VEY SPECI A L P U BLIC A T IO N
S R N O . 14 .

D ouble zenith di stances *

Fo m25 2
.

r .

i i gl i
[Stat on: Sears tr an uat onstat on i Ob server: W Bowi e. State: Txe as. C ounty J on : es I nstrument Vertical circl e N o 46
: .

D at
. .
. .

e: D ec. 22 ,

R e marks

Sid er l h
ea c rono meter N o 1 769 w as
d T
.

use n erat
er ure, 5
°
0. Ba
meter 71 mm
.

re ,

Val ue of”on di vi si on ofl

e eve l b ub
b 1e=2 58
.

f l y hi
Vertical cirele N o 46 difiers romthe usua t pe oft sinstrument in use b the Surve in the num er ofverni er y
s and inthe num b erin of b
i l Th i l i l i g
num ere continuous , so t at the b d ly h d
.

the graduationsoi the c rc e

’
ourvern ers as a rue, and the c rc e gra nat ons are enera
lly
ere are f er
i l d Ci l Ci l L gi d bl z i h di N yh i l l g d
.

ence ofthe tw oc rc e rea in 5 , rc e R and rce , ves the ou e en t stance o 46 has 0 t ree vern s andthe ver
i er t ca circ e ra u
mb d f m b hw y f
a s romthe en t z ih
. .

ations are nu
°
ere ro 0 to 1 80 ot .

In the c olu mn of remarks is gi ven s uch i nf orm ati on as is nec ess ary for the p rop er i nter
pretation of the rec ord by the c omp uter In this c ol umn sh ould als o b e gi ven not es on any
.

unus ual occu rrenc e, s uch as the j arri ng of the i ns trum ent or the adj ustm ent of the i nstrument
duri ng the p eri od of obs ervati ons .

The ab ove f orm is b ou nd in b ooks ofoc tavo siz e, which are furni sh ed to fi eld p arti es up on
requ est .

The l evel c orrec ti on which is sh ow n in the c ol umn h ea

,
“
d d Le eve l ”
and is appli ed to the
obs erved ni th dist anc e in the next
ze to the l ast c olumn is , co mputed by the formul a

Wh n th e e eve
l l gradu ati ons are numb ered conti nuously , m
the f or ul a 1 3

l
— E) <0

in whi ch 0 and E are the readi ngs of the l evel wh en the l arger nu mb ers are at the obj ect end
ofthe l evel vi al , and d is the val ue in s ec onds of arc of one di vi si on ofthe vi a] .

The f ormul a us ed in c omp uti ng tim e from obs ervati ons wi th a vertic al circl e on a st ar or
on the sun is

‘
b cos b
g

in which t is the h ou r angl e, 5 the d ecli nati on, cthe z enith dist anc e of the ob j ect ob served, and
'

is the l atit ud e of the st ati on .

In the f oll owi ng f orm ( N o the us ual meth od of c omput ati on is sh ow n

. This form .

is d esig ned esp eci ally for the c ompu tati on of tim e from the obs erved al ti tud es of a st ar.
 U l l l/ J u/ ( U U U K w v
"
5 6 7 U (1 J U 00 7 0 5 (1 7 0 (l l 11 7 00 0 U V ! vet/ w v b oo .
I
I

F orm381 3
Tx i i gl i i Chronom t r 1 769 Sid l D at
.

[State, e as. Stat on, Sears tr an uat on stat on e e erea e, D ec 22, 1 908 Barometer 71 6 mm
T mp tur 5 C]
. . . .
, , .

°
e era e, .

Star: a
t T uia r

Ch on ding
r . rea ,
1 07

Corr d Zec te .

log cos
log cos a, a
log cos¢+ log cosa= log D , a— a
10 8sin1 — a)l, i -
a)l
10 g sin5 r — a>1 — 6)
c , i [C l
Su mtwo log sines= log N ,

log N — lo
g =log sin2 i t,
D =
log sin5 t, 5 t ( are) 26 17 54

52 35 48

The correcti onis pl us if the chronometeris sl ow and minus it last

C rry ll angl d ly im h d l g i hm to d i mal pl ac s
.

a a es tosec on s on all t es to tent s ofsecon s, and all o ar t s seven ec e

In p b l ow mp ute rate ofchronometer etc
.
,

s ace e , co , .

MeanE p och Chronom t e ercorrect ion

h m m s
I 10 (r Tauri — 4
4 58 fl G e minor .
-
4

Clock rate= 0’ 263 per hour l osi ng . .

In the ab ove c omp ut ati on the c orrecti on for refrac ti on w as obt ai ned from the t abl es on
p ag es 58 59 of this p ublic ati on
—
.

The app arent d ecli nati on and right asc ensi on of the st ar w ere ob tai ned from the Am eric an
E ph emeris and N autic al Almanac for 1 90 8 ( the y ear of obs ervati on) .

T IM E FROM O BS E R V A T I O N S ON THE SU N WI THT H E V E RT

IC A L CI RC L E .

Wh n th e e sun
is the obj ect obs erved up on a slightly di fferent p rogram of obs ervati ons is
req uired The tel esc op e is p oi nt ed on the su n s upp er li mb ( the h oriz ont al wire ofthe tel esc op e
.
’

m ad e tang ent to the disk of the sun) wi th the circl e right and immedi at ely aft erw ard with the
ci rcle l eft At each p oi nti ng the ti me of c ont act the l evel readi ng and the reading of the
.
, ,

vertic al ci rcl e are noted The l et ters R and L (right and l ef t) are us ed to d esignate the p osi
.

ti on ofthe circl e with ref erenc e to the vertic al axis ofthe i nst ru ment Tw o qu art er s ets simil ar .

to the ab ove are th en m ad e in q uick s ucc essi on on the su n s l ow er li mb and fi nall y anoth er
’
,

q uarter set on the upp er li mb Th es e are rec ord ed on the f orm sh ow n b el ow on which are als o
.
,

c omp ut ed the z enit h dist anc es of the sun s li mbs c orrect ed for l evel
’
.
 U . S. C O A ST AN D G E O D E TIC S R U VEY SPE CI A L P U BLIC A T IO N NO . 14 .

D ouble zeni th distances

Form252
.

( Stat on i ,
Tild en. Ob server, W Bowi
. e. State, Minnesota . County Polk
,
. Instrument, Vertical circl e N o 63 D ate
. .
, p
Se t 6
.
,

Sun’s u per p li mb (5 Val ue ofone di vision 0!

the l v l vi l
e e a

Sun’s l ow li mb
er Q

Sun’s o l w li mb
er Q

Sun’s u pp li mb
er G

The obs ervati ons on the upp er li mb are c omp uted s ep arately from th os e on the l ower li mb
ord er th at one may mak e more ex act c orrecti ons for refrac ti on
‘

Computati on of time observations on can wi th vertical ci rcle

Form381
.
,
.

[St i on Til d n D t S p t 6 1 906 Ch onom Sid e

r al 1 02 T mp ratu 27 C B om t ( not °
at , e . a e, e .
, . r eter, e . e e re, . ar e er

Ch on r adi ng
r . e ,

Ch on adi ng
r . re ,

Co rrecte dZ . 49 05 22

log cos
log cosa, 6

log cos ¢ +log cos a= log D , gs

— a

15 47 10

31 34 20

h m
L ongitude fromG reenw i ch =6
E stim
,

ated local mean tim e ofob servation , 9 52

G reenw ich mean time ofobservati on ,
=4 17
Interpolation interval fromG reenwich mean noon
, ,
hour
s
 D E T E R MI N A T IO N OF TI M E .

In this c omp ut ati on thec orrecti onforrefracti onw as ob t ai ned fromthe t abl es onp ag es 58— 59
of thi s p ubli c ati on The arg ument us ed w as the app arent altit ud e
. .

The firs t t abl e gi ves the mean refrac ti on ,

or the ref racti on und er an ass u med s tand ard
condi ti on of7 60 mm 9 in ) p ress ure and 1 0 C . F ) temp erat ure .
°
. . .

The s econd t abl e gi ves the f act or 0 by whi ch the mean refrac ti on as obt ained from the 3 ,

firs t tabl e must b e mul tipli ed on account of a b arometer reading di fferent from 7 60 mm , .

In the thi rd t abl e is ob tained the f ac tor O r by whi ch the m eanrefracti on must b e mul tipli ed
on acc ount of a t emp erature dif ferent f rom the st and ard ( 1 0
°

The resulting refrac ti on is th en r= ru X 0 X CT in whi ch 1 3 is the refrac ti on u nd er s tand ard 3 :

c ondi ti ons obt ained from the firs t t abl e and U s and O r are the f act ors obt ained from the s ec ond
and thi rd t abl es resp ecti vely
‘
.
,

The red uc ti on for semi di ameter and the val ues for the s un s d eclinati on and for the eq ua
’
, ,

ti on of ti me w ere ob tai ned from the Ameri c an E ph emeris and N au tic al Almanac for 1 9 0 6 ( the
y ear of obs ervati ons) .

The p arall ax w as obt ained f rom the t abl e on p ag e 60 whi ch w as als o t ak enfrom Hayfords ’
,

G eod etic A stronomy .

The s emidi ameter w as ob t ained from p ag e 40 5 of the E ph emeris .

The d ecli nati on and the eq uati on of time w ere ob tai ned from p ag es 1 46 and 1 47 of the
E ph emeris The int erp ol ati on of th es e q uanti ti es for the ti me of obs ervati on is mad e by the
.

use of the i nterp ol ati on i nterval obt ai ned at the b ott om of the c omput ati on .

The m ean of the ob servati ons on ei th er limb red uc ed for p arall ax refracti on and st , , ,

di amet er gi ves the t rue z enith di st ance of the su n s c ent er The compu t ati on is by the s am e
’
.

f ormul a as is gi ven for the red ucti on of the obs ervati ons on a st ar ( See p . .

As the ab ove obs ervati ons were mad e usi ng a sid ereal c hronom et er and as the c orrecti on ,

on sid ereal ti me w as req uir e d it w as nec ess ary to red uc e the c omp ut ed m ean t ime ofthe obs erva
,

ti on to its c orresp onding l oc al sid ereal time b ef ore a c omp aris on w as m ad e wi th the ti me as
read from the chronomet er f ac e The f oll owi ng compu t ati on sh ows the vari ous st eps of this .

red ucti on for the obs ervati ons on the s un s upp er li mb :

’

L ocal mean time ofob servati on ( Sept 5 1 90 6) .

,
2

R educti on to si dereal i nterval ( T ab le I I I E phemeris) ,

R i ght ascension ofmean sun G reenwich meannoon Septemb er 5 1 90 6

’
, ,

I ncrease in right ascension ofmean sun at T il den meannoon Septemb er 5 , ,

1 90 6
T b l I II E h m i m 3 w est h
( a e p e er s 6 25
, ) ,
.

Sum local si dereal ti me ofob servati on at Ti ldcn

,

m ore s atisf act ory th an th os e on the sun

F or s everal reas ons the obs ervati ons on a st ar are
W
.

h en us ed in c onnecti on with oth er astronomi c obs ervati ons such as the d et erminati on of ,

azi muth a chronometer c orrecti on f rom ob servati ons on a s tar may b e obt ai ned cl os e to the
,

ep och of the obs ervati ons si nc e any one of many avail abl e s t ars may b e us ed , The c omp ut a .

ti on is m ore easily m ad e as th ere is no red uc ti on for s emidi amet er or for p arall ax and the ,

d eclinati on andright asc ensi on ofa st ar are p ractic ally c onst ant d uri ng an entire set ofobs erva
ti ons and th eref ore easily and q uickly ob tai ned from a st ar lis t N o eq uati on of tim e is i nt ro .

duced .

The obs erver sh ould h ave a s tar ch art 3

for use in id entifyi ng the st ars obs erved up on .

Th tabl w r pi d fromA T x t Book ofG eod ti A t onomy by J oh n F H ayfo d fo m ly in p torof g od ti wo k and Chi f oi
1 ese es e e ce e e e c sr r r er S ec e e c r e
puting Divi ion U S C oa t nd G od ti Su v y John Wil y d Son 1 898
.

th C om
,

e s s a e e c r e e c s,
u t b r m mb r d th at th d y ofth E ph mi i a t onom and b gin t noonofth i vil d yof th m d ate Sep t 5 21 52
. . . .
,

It m
i s e e e ee i e a e cr s s sr c, e sa ec a e sa e . h 173

i manti m i th for noonofS pt 6 i vil ti m

.
,

a tronoms c e e s e e e c e

ay b ob tain d f omth N vy D p artm nt W

.

Star Chart r publi h d by th Hyd ographi Offi of th U S N vy and m a hington

.
,
3 sae s e e r c ce e a e e r e a e e s
D C Star Charts ar al o ontai n d in A Fi ld Book ofth Sta by WT Olcott ( G P Putn m Son publi h r )
. .
, ,
’
. . e s c e e e rs, . . . . a 8 s, s es .
S
. CO A ST AN D G E OD E T I C U VE Y SPE CI A L P U BLIC AT IO N
S R

Man rfraction (m)

e e

illi m t
[Barometer 760 m in h T mp
“
,
r
e es c es) . e er ure,
at 10
°
P) . l

Meanre 01 1
211 A l ti Meanrc
f i
ract on 5
mmute minute tu e d f raction
_

0 I

52 30 0
53 00 0
30 0

54 00 0
30 0
55 00 0

30 0
56 00 0
57 00 0
 D E T E R M I N A T IO N OF T I ME .

Correction to meanrefraction as givenonpage 58 depending upon the reading ofthe barometer

,
.

CB) Crl l-

Barometer Barometer Barometer Barometer

Correcti on to mean refraction as given on age 58, ding upon the

depen f the
reading o detached
t er mometer .

[r=

T mp
e erature T mp ratu
e e re

F hr n C nti
a e e
h it g d
e ra e
 U . S
. CO A ST A N D G E O D E T IC S R U VEY SPECI A L P U BLIC A T IO N N O .

The parallax ofthe sun ( p) for thefirst dayofeach month .

A, B c FAC T OR S
, , .

Th es e f act ors are referred to in the compu t ati ons ofti me from obs ervati ons wi th the t ransit
on p a es 2 3 and 2 5
g .Th eir arithm etic al val ues are as foll ows :
A zi muth f act or A = sin C see 5
Level f act or B= cos sec 3
Colli mati on f act or= 0 = sec 8
wh ere 3 = d eclinati on and — 6 or b
g 6) for st ars obs erved at
—

“
upp er or l ow er culminati on resp ecti vely .

The signs ofthe f actors are as foll ows

A is plus ex c ept for st ars b etw een the z enith and the p ol e .

Bis plus exc ept for st ars obs erved at l ower c ulminati on .

0 is pl us for st ars at upp er c ulmi nati on and minus for st ars at l ow er c ulm inati on wh en ,

obs ervati on s are mad e wi th the i nstrument in the p osi ti on b and ( cl amp or ill um
,
i nati on) west .

0 is minus for s tars at upp er c ulmi nati on and plus for st ars at l ow er c ul mi nati on wh enob ser
vations are mad e wi th the instru ment in the p osi ti on b and ( cl amp or ill uminati on) east
, .

Th ese f act ors are gi ven to two d eci mal pl ac es in the t abl es on p ages 62 to 7 7 and will b e ,

found s uffici ently acc urat e wh enever the errors of adj ustment a b and c are not all ow ed to
, , , ,

exc eed one s ec ond of ti me In 1 87 4 thi s Survey p ublish ed more ext end ed t abl es gi ving th es e
W
.
,

f act ors to t hree d eci mal pl ac es h ere from any c aus e obs ervati ons are m ad e w i th an instru
’

.
, ,

m ent al error ab normally l arg e it is d esi rabl e to tak e the c orresp onding st ar f act ors from the
m ore ext end ed t abl e or to c omp ut e th em .
 D E T E R M I N A T IO N OF T I ME .

S TA R F A C T O RS O BT A I N E D G RAP HICA LLY .

F or a numb er ofy ears th ere has b een in use in the Survey a nomogramfor obt aining g raph ~

ically the s tar f act ors A B and 0 and als o if the c orrec ti on for di urnal ab errati on This
, ,
.

nomog ram w as devis ed by M

, ,

r C R D uvall a c omp uter in the Survey . I t is not onl y more

. .
,
.

e xp edi ti ous th an the t abl es bu t the eli minati on of the d oubl e int erp ol ati on which the use of
,

the t abl es nec essi tates adds to the acc uracy of the d er i ved f act or in many c as es .

The nomog ram is sh own in i ll us trati on N o 9 red uc ed in siz e I t c onsists of two syst ems .
,
.

ofeq uidi s tant p aral l el li nes p erp endic ul ar to each oth er a syst em ofarcs of eq uidi s tant concen ,

t ric ci rcl es and a transp arent arm c arryi ng a g rad uat ed st rai gh t line whi ch revol ves ab out the
, ,

common c enter of the circl es The d eci meter has b een the uni t of l eng th in the nomograms
.

us ed The three syst ems ofli nes are drawn at a c ommon di s tanc e ap art of 1 c enti met er The
. .

esti mat ed tenth of this c enti met er s p ac e gi ves the s ec ond d eci mal pl ac e in the req u ired f ac tors .

The g rad uat ed line on the und er s urf ac e of the t ransp arent arm p ass es through the c enter
ofthe axis ab out which the armrevol ves A s ec ant g radu ati on is mad e up on this line meas ured
.
,

f rom the c ent er of the axi s ofrevol uti on Th at is the g radu ati on c orresp onding to any angl e
.
,

is at a dis tanc e from the c ent er eq ual to the s ec ant ofthe angl e in q ues ti on Thi s c ent er ofthe .

axis ofrevol uti on is the c om mon c ent er of the c oncent ric circles and als o t he ori gin ofthe tw o
syst ems of p arall el li nes .

The g rad uati ons on the arm are for the d eclinati ons In the nomog rams us ed the grad ua .

limits the use of

The zenith d ist anc es are g radu at ed on one of the c onc ent ri c ci rcl es at a c onvenient dis
t anc e f rom the c ent er In the inst ru ment sh ow n in the ill ustration the dist anc e is 2 5 c ent ime
.

teis Sinc e s tars are never obs erved at z eni th dist anc es app roaching the upp er p art of
‘

the q uad rant is not us ed .

To d et ermine the f actors A , B, and 0 of a gi ven st ar, revol ve the t ransp arent arm until
the g radu at ed line of the arm c oincid es wi th the st ar s z eni th d ist anc e on the g rad uat ed arc
’
.

H olding the arm in this p ositi on, pl ac e a needl e p oint at th at p oint of the g rad uat ed line whi ch
c orre ’
sp onds to the st ar s d eclinati on The p osi tion of this p oint in the three syst ems of eq ui
.

dist ant lines gi ves the three f act ors , A b eing the ordinat e, B the absciss a, and 0 the radius
vect or .

The nomogram shown in the ill ustration is of thin b rist ol b oard p ast ed smoothl y on thi ck
c ardb oard The t ransp arent arm is of c ell ul oid one sixt eenth of an inch t hi ck The axis of
.
-

the ar m is a s olid met al cylind er with a h ead which fits against the b ack of the c ardb oard -
.

The ax is is mad e l ong so th at the arm can b e pl ac ed on it and revol ved without b eing mad e
f ast .

n may b e t ak en f rom the s ame nomogram

The c orrection for ab erratio , as f oll ows :Set the
l i g arm at th at angl e on the g radu at ed circl e which is eq ual to the l atit ud e
revo v n of the given
st ation F rom the g rad uat ed l ine of the arm read off the d eclination at each int ers ecti on with
.

a b rok en line ordinat e Th es e d ecl inations are the li mits b etw een whi ch it has the val ues
-
.

etc for the l atit ud e of the st ation in qu es tion By means of th es e li m

.
, i ts .

the x ofany st ar can b e i mmedi at ely writt en d own f rom its d eclinati on The b rok en line ordi .
-

015 0 25
hates are d rawn at dist anc es f rom the or
igin eq ual to fl ’
'

’ ’ etc . d ecimet ers

02 1 02 1 02 1
.

. .
 U . S. C O A ST AN D G EO D E T IC U VEY SPE CI A L P U BLIC A T I O N N O
S R . 14.

Table offactors for reduction of transit observations .

TO P AR G U M E N T= STA R S D E CLIN AT ION

’

SI D E A R GU ME N T = STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E
’

f
[F or actorA use l ft hand argum nt F orfa torB u righ t hand a gum nt F or fa tor 0 u b ottomli n
e -
e . c se -
r e . c se e on o ppo it pag
s e e)
.

°
26
 D E T E R M I N A T IO N OF T I ME .

Table offactorsfor reduction of transi t observations .

TO P AR G U ME N T STA R ’S D E CLIN AT ION

s

I D E A R GUME N T STA R S Z E NIT H D I STA NC E ( C)

S -
’
.

[ F or f actorA use l ft hand g um nt F o fa to Bu ight hand gum nt F o fa to 0 u bottomlin onthi

e -
ar e . r c r se r -
ar e . r c r se e s page ]
 U . S. CO A ST A ND G E OD E T IC U V E Y SPE CI A L P U BLIC A T I O N N O
S R . 14
.

Table offactorsfor reducti on oftransi t observations .

TO P A R G U MEN T= STA R S D E CL IN AT ION

’

SI D E A R GUME N T STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( c

’
) .

[ F or fa torA u
c se e l ft hand argumnt F o fa torBu ight hand a gum nt F or factor0 u bottomlin onopposi t
-
e . r c se r -
r e . se e epage ]
 D E T E R M I N A T IO N OF TI M E .

Table offactorsfor reduction of transi t observations .

TO P A R G U ME N T = STA R S D E CLIN AT ION

’

SI D E A R G U ME N T= STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( C
’
) .

use l ft hand a gumnt F or f to B u igh t hand a gum nt F or fa to 0 u b ottomlin onthi

e -
r e . ac r se r -
r e . c r se e s page ]

81 3 6
°—
13 —5
 U . S. CO A ST AN D G EO D E T IC S R U VEY SPE CI A L P U BLIC A T I O N N O . 1 4.

Table offactorsfor reduction of transit observations .

TO P A R GUME N T = STA R S D E C L IN AT ION

’

SI D E A R GUME N T = STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E

’

[ F or fa to
c rA use l e ft hand argumnt F orfa torBu righ t h and argum nt
f e . c se -
e .F or fa tor 0 u b ottoml in onoppo it p ag
c se e s e e).
 U . S. CO A S T AN D G EO D E T IC S U R VEY S PECI A L P U BLIC A T IO N N O . 1 4.

Table offactorsfor reduction oftransit observations .

TO P A R GUME N T STA R S D E CLIN AT ION ( J )

-
’
.

SI D E A R G U ME N T= STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( c)
’
.

f
[F or actorA use l f t hand a gumnt F or fa torBu righ t hand a gumnt F or fa tor0 u bottomlin onoppo i t
e -
r e . c se ~ r e . c se e s e page ]
 D E T E R M I N A T IO N OF TI ME .

Table offactorsfor reduction of transi t observations .

TO P A R G U ME N T STA R S D E CLIN AT ION

= ’

SI D E A R GU MEN T STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( c

= ’
)
f orA use
[F or act l ft hand a gum n F o f torBu igh h nd gumnt F orf o 0 u bottomlin onthi
e -
r e t. r ac se r t a ar e . act r se e s page ]
 .

U . S. CO A S T AND G EO D E T IC S U R VEY PECI A L P U BLIC A T IO N N O

S . 1 4.

Table offactorsfor reduction of transit observations .

TO P A R GU ME N T = STA R S D E C L IN AT ION
’

SI D E A R GUM E N T = STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( C

’
: )

f
[F or actor A use e l ft hand argumnt F or fa torBu right hand argumnt F or fa tor 0 u bottoml ine onopposit pag
-
e . c se f e . c se e e]
 D E T E R M I N AT IO N OF T I ME .

Table offactorsfor reduction oftransi t observations .

TO P A R GU ME N T = STA R S D E CLIN AT ION

-
z
’

SI D E A R GUM E N T =STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( c

-
’
) .

f
[F or actorA use l ft hand a gumnt F o fa torBu ight hand a gumnt F orfa to 0 u bottomlin
e -
r e . r c se r f r e . c r se i page]
e onths
 U . S. CO A ST AN D G EO D E T IC S R U VEY SPEC IA L P U BLIC A TIO N N O . 1 4.

Table offactorsfor reduction of transi t observations .

TO P A R G U ME N T= STA B S D E CLIN AT ION

’

SI D E A R GUM E N T = STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( c

’ .
)
f
[F or actor A use l e f t hand a g umnt F orfa torB u righ t hand argumnt F orfa tor0 u b ottoml in onoppo i t
-
r e . c se - e . c se e s epage ]
 D E T E R MI N A T IO N OF T I ME . 73

Table offactorsfor reduction of transit observations .

TO P A R GUME N T = STA R S D E CL IN AT ION

’

SI D E A R GU ME N T = STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( c)
’
.

f
[ F or actorA use l f t hand a gumnt F o fa torBu righ t h nd argum nt F or fa to ( 7 u bottomli n onthi
e -
r e . r c se -
a e . c r se e spage ]
 U . S. CO A ST AN D G E O DE T IC U VE Y SPECIA L P U B LIC A T I O N NO
S R . 1 4.

Table offactorsfor reduction of transi t observations .

TO P A R GU ME N T = STA R S D E CLIN AT ION

’

SI D E A R GUM E N T = STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( c

’ .
)

[ F or fa torA u
c se el f t hand argumnt F o fa torB u righ t hand argumnt F or fa tor0 u bottomlin
~ e . r c se -
e . c se e on o ppo it pag
s e e .
)
 U . S. CO A ST AN D G EO D E T IC U VEY SPECI A L P U BLIC A T IO N N O
S R . 14
.

Table offactors for reduction of transit observations .

TO P A R GUME N T = STA R S D E CLIN AT ION

’

SI D E A R G U ME N T= STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E ( C
’
) .

f
[ F or actor A use l ft hand argum nt F orfa to Bu right hand argum nt F orfa tor0 u bottomli n onopposi t
e -
e . c r se -
e . c se e epage ]

° ’
79 20
 D E T E R M I N A T IO N OF TI M E .

Table offactorsfor reduction of transi t observations .

TO P A R GU ME N T =8TA R S D E CLIN AT ION

-
'

SI D E A R G U ME N T= STA R S Z E NI T H D I STA NC E (C
’
)

[F or fa torA us
c e e l ft h nd a gum nt F o f tor B u righ t h nd gum nt F o f to 0 u bottoml in
-
a r e . r ac se -
a ar e . r ac r se e on thi
s pag
e) .
 PAR T II .

THE D ETE RM
INATIO N OF -
THE D IF F E RE NCE O F L O N G ITUD E O F TW
O STATIO N S .

I N T RO DUC T O R Y .

The m eridi an at G reenwich h aving b een ad opt ed as the initial one to whi ch all longi tu d es
i nthe Unit ed Stat es are to b e ref erred , the d etermi nati on of the l ongitu d e of a new st ati on
consists si mply in the d et erminati on of the diff erenc e of l ongitud e of the new st ati on and of
G reenwich , or s ome st ati on of which the longit ud e reckoned f rom G reenwich is k now n T he .

d et erminati on of a diff erenc e of ast ronomic longitud e is noth ing more nor l ess th an the d et er
mination ofthe diff erence ofthe loc al ti mes oft e st tio s
h a n 1
.

Th ere are three g eneral m eth ods of d et ermi ning longitud e now in use, viz , the t eleg raphic ,
the chronomet ric , and the l unar .

In the t el eg raphi c m eth od the error of the loc al ch ronomet er on loc al sid ereal ti me is d et er
mined at each of the tw o st ati ons by the meth ods s tat ed in P art I of this p ublic ati on, and
the tw o chronomet er tim es are th en c omp ared by t el eg raphi c si gnals s ent b etw een the st ati ons .

In the ch ronomet ric meth od c ert ain ch ronomet ers whi ch are t ransp ort ed b ac k and forth
b etw een the st ati ons t ak e the pl ace ofthe t el egraphi c signals and thus s erve merely to comp are
the st ati on chronom et ers .

In each of the lunar meth ods the obs erver at a st ati on of whi ch the l ongitu d e is requi red
obs erves the p ositi on of the m oon, or at l east one c oordinat e of th at p ositi on, and not es the
local ti me at whi ch his obs ervati on w as mad e He may th en c onsult the E ph emeris and fi
. nd
at wh at inst ant of G reenwich ti me the moon w as actu ally in the p ositi on in which he obs erved
it The differenc e b etw een t his ti me and the loc al ti me of hi s obs ervati on is his longitu d e
.

rec koned f rom G reenwich O ne c oordinat e fixing the p ositi on of the moon may b e d et ermined
.

to s erve as a means of d eri ving a l ongitud e by measu ring the right asc ensi on of the moon at a
t ransit across the m eridi an; by m easu ring the angul ar di st anc e b etw een the moonand the sun
or one of the f ou r l arg er pl anets , or b etw een the m oon and one of the b right er st ars or by
obs ervi ng the ti mes of dis app earanc e and reapp earanc e ( i mmersi on and emersi on) of a known
st ar b ehind the moon the lu nar dist anc e of the st ar at th os e i nst ants b eing the angl e su b
- ~

t end ed by the moon s radiu s In each c as e the G reenwich time at whi ch the m oon occupi ed
’
.

the p ositi on inwhich it w as obs erved is ob t ai ned eith er from the E ph emer i s , from obs ervati ons
at G reenwich at ab ou t the ti me in qu esti on, or from si mil ar obs ervati ons at s o e st ati on of m
known l ongitud e .

The d et erminati on of longitud e by wirel ess t el egraph is not discuss ed in this public ation .

This method has b een us ed to a c ert ai n ext ent by s ome c ou nt ri es with app arently s atisf act ory
results I t wi ll no d oub t b e u s ed to a c onsid erabl e ext ent in the l oc ati on ofisl ands which h ave
.

no c abl e c onnecti ons The w rit er b eli eves th at it is mu ch l ess exp ensive and more s atisf act ory
.

at p res ent to use the ordi nary t el eg raph lines for the d et erminati on of l ongit ud e for g eod etic
pu rp os es within the Unit ed St at es Th es e conditions may b e revers ed in the not dist ant
.

fu tu re .

1 The tlmes may b e ei ther sid ereal or meansol ar . lly th id

U sua es ereal ti m
es are co mp ared becau i m ob
se the t e i
servat ons are ly always
near
made uponstars .

78
 D E T E R M I N A T IO N OF LO N G I T UD E .

The t elegraphic m eth od is the m ost accu rat e known m eth od of d et ermining differenc es 1

of l ongitud e I t is alw ays u s ed in this Su rvey for all longitud e d et erminations in regi ons
.

p enet rat ed by t el egraph li nes and is th erefore set forth fully in this public ati on ,
.

A m eth od s uit a bl e fo r u se in r egi ons n ot reach ed by th e t el eg raph 2

is the chronomet ric ,

method As this has b een ext ensi vely us ed at c oast st ations in Al ask a and will p rob ably
.

continu e to b e so us ed du ring some y ears to com e it is als o h ere t reat ed in full , .

To use the chronometri c m eth od one must b e abl e to t ravel b ac k and forth c arryi ng chro
nometers b etw een the tw o st ati ons The cost of such a longitu d e d et erminati on i nc reases wi th .

increas ed cost of t ravel b etw een st ati ons and i ts accu racy d ecreas es as the t ime requ ired to ,

make a rou nd t rip inc reas es Th es e f acts c aus e the chronometric method to give w ay to lu nar .

meth ods in c ert ai n comp aratively rare situ ati ons The p oi nts at which the b ound ary b etw een .

A l as k a and British Am eric a (one hu nd red and forty fi rst m eridi an) c ross es the Y u kon and -

Porcupine R i vers w ere d et ermined by lu nar m ethods 3

Comp aratively few such c as es h ave .

occu rred in l at e y ears in this Su rvey in whi ch it w as d esi rabl e to res ort to obs ervati ons u p on
the m oon t o d et erm i ne i m p ort an t l on gitud es ‘
To h ave d et ermined th es e longitu d es by trans .

p o rt ation of ch r on o m e t ers w o uld h ave b een exc eedingly di f ficult an d c ostly and w ould h ave ,

gi ven results of a low ord er of accu racy for th ere are m ore th an a thous and mil es of slow river ,

navig ati on b et ween the mouth of the Y ukon and ei th er st ati on .

As the lunar m eth ods w il l p rob ably b e us ed l ess and l ess with the l aps e of ti me and the
increase oft raveling f acili ti es it does not s eem d esirabl e to inc orp orat e d et ails in reg ard to th em
,

in thi s publi c ati on esp eci ally as such d et ail s would g reatly inc reas e its siz e
, The c ompu t a .

ti ons i nvolved are l ong c ompl ex and d ifficult Thos e who wish to study the lu nar m ethods
, ,
.

or d et ails to D ooli ttl e s P rac tic al As tronomy to C hauvenet s As tronomy Volume

’
" ’
are ref erred f

“
, ,

I and to the Americ an E ph em eris ( asid e f rom the t abl es ) esp eci ally to the p ag es in the b ac k
, ,
,

of each volu me h ead ed U se of t abl es .

P RO G RAM AN D A PPARAT U S O F THE T E L E G R A P HIC M E T H O D .

u ring more th an 60 y ears of its use by the Coast and G eodetic Survey the t el eg raphic
D
'

m eth od w as g radu ally modifi ed but with the ad option of the t ransit mic romet er ab out 1 9 04 ,

the p rog ram of the d et erm inati on of p rim ary l ongitud es u nd erwent radic al ch ang es The pro .

gram and app aratus us ed at p res ent in the Su rvey will b e d escrib ed fi rst and then the m ethod
form erly us ed wil l b e b ri efly expl ained .

The int rod uction ofthe t ransit mic rom et er p ractic ally el iminat ed from the t im e d et ermina
ti ons and c onsequently f rom the l ongi tud e d et erminati ons the l arge error whi ch w as lmown
, ,
’
as the obs erver s p ers onal eq uati on The p rog ram of l ongitu d e obs ervations w as formerly .

d esigned to eliminat e the p ers onal eq uation f rom the resul ts .

G E N E RA L I N S T R U C T I O N S L O N G I TUD E D E T E RMI N A T I O N BY THE C O AS T AN D G E O D E T IC

FOR
S U RV E Y WI T H T R A N SI T MICROM E T E RS IN L O WLAT I TUD E S ( L E SS T H AN
1 . The obs ervations up on each st ar sh ould
gi ven u ni t w eight reg ardl ess ofthe d eclina be ,

ti on ofthe st ar and ofwh eth er or not the obs ervati on ofthe t ransit is c ompl et e I f an obs erved .

t ransit is inc omplet e only th os e obs ervati ons sh ould b e us ed for which the p ositi ons of the
,

obs erving wi re are sym met ri c al with reference to the mi ddl e p oint of the regist ration int erval
of the sc rew ; th at is each rec ord is to b e rej ect ed for whi ch the sym met ric al rec ord is missing
, .

1 l g phi m thod ofd t rmi ni ng diff n ofl ongi tud wa origi nat d by th Coa t Surv y in 1 846 two y ar aft th fir t tran
The te e ra c e ee ere ces e s e e s e e s er e s s
mi ionoft l graphi messag s ov rwir Duri ng th long i nt val i n that tim th m thod ha g rad ually b n b ough t to it pr nt hi gh
,

ss ee c e e es e er s ce e e e s ee r s ese
tat of p rf cti on F o a hi tori al not onthi ubj t A pp ndix N o 2 R po t for1 897 pp 202 203
.

s e e e . r s c e ss ec see e e r .

In rtai ncas in whi h th t l graph li n i w nting th am p ri n ipl mayb u d wi h th ub ti tutionofa fl a h ofligh t b tw n ta

. .
, ,

2 ce es c e ee e s a e s e c es e se t es s s e ee s '

ti on inth pl ac ofth l tri w av F o xampl on m igh t o d t rmi n th l ongi tud ofth A l u i an I l and ofA la ka th u i v i lands
,

s e e e e ec c e. re e, e s e e e e es e e t s s s e s ccess e s
b ing ingen ral int rvi ibl Thi m hod ha not how v r b nu d by thi Su v y Th o t ofd t rmining l ongi tud by thi m hod wi ll
,

e e e s e. s et s e e ee se s r e ec s e e es s et
in g n al b u h gr at rthanby th hronom t i m thod ( b cau ofth many int rm di at tati on s whi h wi ll b r q uir d b tw ndi tant
.
, ,

e er om es c e e ec e rc e e se e e e es c e e e e ee s
stati on ) a to msor thanoff t it gr at ra ura y
s e se s e e cc c
Inth final d m ar ati onof th boundary b tw nA la k a and Bri ti h C ol umbia ani ni ti l point onth on hundr d and forty fir t mridian
.
,

e e c e e ee s s a e e e -
s e
w a d t rm in d t l gr
aphi ally u ing tran i t quipp d wi th tran i t mi rom t Th t l graphi l ongi tud am wi thi n th ang of thr
,

s ee e ee c s s s e e s c e ers e ee c e c e e r e ee
d t rmi nation by l unarm thod Th total rang ofth v ral l una d t rminati on ofl ongi tud indiff r nt y ars was ond oftim
.
,

e e s e s e e e se e r e e s e e e e sec s e
A tat mnt ofth r ul t ofth d t rminati on whi h i p ially i nt r ting a howing what rrors maybe xp t d in u h ob rva
. .

4 s e e e es s ese ee s, c s es ec e es ss e e ec e s c se
ti ons i gi v n inA pp ndi x N o 3 ofth R po t f
, s e o 1 895
e . e e r r .
 U . S. CO A ST A N D G E O D E T I C S R U VEY SPE C IA L PU BL ICA TIO N '

N O . 14 .

2 . The limi t st ar ( wh eth er the obs erved t ransit is

ofrej ect ion for an obs ervation up on one
compl et e or not) is a residu al of s econd N o obs ervati on c orresp onding to a resid ual s maller
.

th an thi s sh ould b e rej ect ed unl ess the rej ecti on is mad e at the tim e ofobs ervation .

3 E ach h alf set of t im e obs ervati ons sh ould c onsist of obs ervati ons on f rom 5 to 7 st ars
.

( 6 p referred ) In rare c as es a h alf set may c onsist of only f our st ars Al l of th es e are to b e
. .

t im e st ars ; th at is no az imuth st ars are to b e obs erved F or the p urp os e ofthis p aragraph an
,
.

azimuth st ar is d efi ned as one for whic h the az imu th f act or A is great er th an u nity The alg e , , .

b raic sum ofthe A f act ors in each h alf set sh ould b e kept l ess th an u nity unl ess it is f ound th at
to s ec ure s uch a h alf set c onsid erab l e d el ays w ould b e nec ess ary I t is d esi rabl e to h ave the .

algeb raic sum of the A f act ors as s mall for each h alf set as it is p ossibl e to make it by the use
of g ood j udgment in s el ecti ng the st ars b ut it is not d esirabl e to red uc e the nu mb er of st ars
,

per h ou r to b e obs erved in ord er to imp rove the b al ancing ofthe A f act ors if s aid b al ancing is ,

al ready wi th in the sp ecifi ed l im it .

4 In s el ect ing lists of st ars to b e obs erved one sh ould end eavor to s ecu re the maxi m um
.
,

numb er ofst ars per h our p os sibl e subj ect to the conditi ons ofp aragraph 3 and to the nec essity
,

ofs ecu ring l evel read ings reversing the inst ru ment exch ang ing signals et c et era
, , To observe , .

the s ame st ars at b oth st ati ons invol ved in a l ongit ud e dif ferenc e is d esi rabl e b ut it is of l ess

“
,

imp ort ance th an to s ecu re rapid obs ervati ons with w ell—b al anc ed A f act ors in each h alf set .

5 T he t el esc op e sh ould b e pl aced in the p ositi on illu minati on w est for the fi rst h alf set
”
.

ofeach night and it sh ould b e revers ed b efore the b eginning ofeach ofthe oth er h alf s ets .

6 T. he obs ervati ons on each night sh ould consist und er normal c onditi ons of f ou r su ch , ,

half s ets as are d efined in p arag raph3 In c as e ofi nt erference with the normal p rogress ofthe
.

obs ervat ions by cl ouds or oth er c aus es a d et erminati on on a given night may b e all ow ed to
,

d ep end u p on a sm all er numb er ofst ars andofh alf s ets at each st ation But the d et erm inati on .

ofthe l ongit ud e dif f erence on anynight is to b e rej ect ed if at eith er st ati on th ere has b een no , ,

revers al of the in st rum ent or if l ess th an tw el ve st ars w ith tw o revers als are succ essfu lly
,

obs erved at eith er st ati on or if the exch ang e ofsignals t ak es pl ace at eith er st ati on outsid e the
,

int erval c overed by the time obs ervati ons at th at st ation .

7 Th ere is to b e no exch an
.
ge of obs ervers du ring the d et erminati on of any dif f erence of
l ongitu d e .

8 A d et erminati on of a dif
. ferenc e of l ongit ud e will c onsist of eith er t hree or f ou r su ch
nights of obs ervati ons as are sp ecifi ed in p aragraph 6 I f b efore anopp ortu nity occu rs to .
,

t ak e obs ervati ons up on a f ou rth night it b ecomes know n th at the result f rom each of the fi rst
,

three nights of obs ervati ons ag rees with the m ean result within no obs ervati ons on a
fou rth night sh ould b e t aken I f one or m ore ofthe fi
. rst th ree nig hts gi ve results dif fering by
or more f rom the m ean or if obs ervati ons are s ecu red on a f ou rth night b ef ore the
,

res ults f rom the first three nights are all known th en obs ervati ons on f ou r night s are to con ,

stitute a c ompl et e d et erm inati on of a diff erenc e ofl on gitud e .

9 Wh en ref erring a l ongitu d e st ati on to a t ri angul ati on st ati on the angl e and dist anc e
.

m easu rements sh ould b e m ad e with a ch eck and with such accu racy th at if necessary the
longitud e st ati on mayrepl ace the t ri angul ati on st ation for future s urveys .

10 T he fi eld c omp ut ati ons are to b e kept as cl os ely up to d at e as p ractic abl e

. .

1 1 In making the c omp ut ati ons of t ime obs ervati ons in the fi eld the meth od s
. h own on ,

p ag es 2 1 to 2 7 ofthis public ati on sh ould b e foll ow ed .

G E N E RA L I N S T R U CT I O N S F O R L O N G I TUD E D E T E RMI N AT I O N B Y THE C O A S T AN D G E O D E T I C

S U R VE Y W I T HT R A N SI T M ICR O M E T E RS IN HI G HL A T I TUD ES ( G RE AT E R T HAN
The obs erving field c omp ut ations for the w ork in c onnecti on with the t el egraphi c
and the
'

d et erminati on ofl ongit ud e in l atitu d es g reat er th an sh ould b e d one in ac cord ance wi th the
inst ru cti ons for w ork in l at itud es l ess th an 50 except th at : ( a) The st ars of a set are given
°

d ifferent w eights d ep ending u p on th ei r p ositi ons ( b) N o rej ecti on l imit is fix ed for use by the
.

obs erver; rej ecti ons are mad e if nec ess ary in the offic e aft er the l east sq uare c omp ut ati ons
, ,

h ave b een m ad e ( 0 ) I t will b e imp ossibl e as a rul e to have a h alf set with all tim e st ars and
.
, ,
 N o 10
. .

Chronograph

Bat tery

Chronometer

ransi t M
T icrometer

Sounder
T
elegrapher s
'

Signal Ke
y

D uri ng Tlme O b servati ons

A R R A N G E ME N T O F E L E C TR IC A L C ONN E C TION S T E L E G R A P H IC LONG I TU D E

,
— TR A N SlT M
-
IC R O MET E R
MET H O D .
 No 11.
.

A R R A NG E MEN T O F E L E C T R IC A L C O NN EC T IO N S T E LE G R A P H IC LO N GI TU D E
.
-
K EY MET H O D .
 U . S . CO A S T AND G EO D E T IC S R U VEY SPECI A L P U BLIC A T IO N NO . 14 .

are pl ac ed in the l oc al circuit at each st ati on by t he removal of a plug of each switchb oard
Any b reak in the mai n line circ ui t will now c aus e c orresp onding b reaks in the l oc al circ ui ts
—
,

and a signal m ad e with the t elegraph key1 will b e rec ord ed on b oth c h ronographs The .

obs erver at the w est ern st ati on c us tom arily s ends signals firs t by rel eas ing the t el egraph ,

key for an i nst ant b etw een the breaks of his chronomet er at an averag e int erval of two
s ec onds He tim es th es e sig nals so th at th ey will not interf ere with his own chronomet er
.

rec ord andhe must als o b e p rep ared to shift th em to anoth er p orti on ofthe s ec ond if th ey are
, ,

c onfli cting with the rec ord ofthe chronom et er at the oth er st ati on N otic e ofan int erf erence is .

gi ven by the oth er obs erver by b reaking int o the circuit and m aking a s ucc essi on of qui ck
b reaks with the key Aft er 1 5 to 2 0 sig nals h ave b een s ent from the w est ern st ati on c overing
.
,

a p eri od of over h alf a m i nut e d oubl e th at numb er of signals are s ent by the east ern obs erver
, ,

and th en 1 5 to 2 0 more are s ent by the w est ern obs erver This m ak es a t ot al of3 0 to 40 signals .

each w ay with the mean ep och of the sig nals from the tw o di fferent directi ons agreei ng cl os ely
, .

The sig nals as a rul e c over a t ot al p eri od of l ess th an three minut es I t is w ell to mak e a
, ,
.

s ucc essi on ofq uick b reaks at the b eginni ng and end ofeach s eri es ofsignals I t is als od es irabl e .

to vary thep ositi on of each of s everal sig nals with ref erenc e to the chronom et er b reaks at the
b eginning of a s eri es or to mak e s everal signals at int ervals of one s ec ond in ord er to f acili t at e
the id entific ati on ofc orresp ondi ng rec ords at the two st ati ons The nu mb erofsignals exch anged .

is arranged to c over a p eri od great er th an one minut e each w ay w ith a vi ew ofeliminating errors ,

in the c ont ac t wh eel of the chronomet er .

A signal s ent from one st ati on to the oth er w ill b e rec ord ed on the chronograph of the
s ending st ati on sligh tly b efore it is on the dist ant chronograph and this d ifferen c e in tim e of ,

rec ord is c all ed the t rans m i ssi on time I t d ep ends inf act b oth onthe ret ard ati onofthe signal .
, ,

in the t el egraph l ine b etween the tw o st ati ons and on the di ff erenc e in the tim e ofacti on ofthe ,

sig nal rel ays at the tw o st ati o s n ” Sig nals s ent from w est to cast will m ak e the differenc e in
.

l ongitud e too l arg e and signals from east to w est will m ake it too sm all by the amou nt of the
,

t rans mission time By t aki ng the m ean of the diff erenc es as gi ven by the sig nals in b oth
.

d irections this s ourc e of error is eliminated p rovi d ed the transmission time is the s ame in ,

b oth direc i st on 3
.

D u ring exch ange of signals the ch ronographs are run at d oubl e sp eed so th at the signals ,

may b e read to hund redths of s ec onds The ad vant ag e in s ending signals by making arbit rary .

b reaks ofthe ci rcuit is th at th ey will c ome at varying p arts ofthe s ec onds thus t ending to elimi ,

na e er o
t p s n al eq uati on in th e readi ng of the f racti onal p arts of the s c
e on d 4
I f p ortions ofthe .

rec ord are mi ss ed the c orresp ondi ng signals at the tw o st at ions may still b e id entifi ed by com
,

p aring the succ essi ve differenc es b et w een signals .

REC O R D O F AN E X CH A N G E OF SI G N A L S .

The f oll ow ing is c d o ’

m
one night
f an act ual exch ang e of signals b etw een tw o st ati ons
s re or ,

w ritt en as read f ro the ch ronog raph sh eet on a sp eci al f orm us ed for the p urp os e on whi ch ,

is als o m ad e the c omput ati on ofthe ep ochs of the signals at the tw o st ati ons the c omput ation ,

ofthe final diff erenc e ofsignals and the t rans missi on ti me , .

I d that th ignal ar mad by b r aki ng th ir ui t whi h i oppo i t to th o dina y o pond en u orth k y

It is tob e note ese s s e e e ec c c s s e e r r c rres ce se e e

Th latt i p ob ably a mall q u nti ty Som m a ur m nt orth matu tim ofon ofth q ui k a tn i g l ay u d in th s l ongi tud
, .

2 e er s r s a e es e e s e ar re e e e c c re s se ee e
d t min ti on how d it to v y f om to ond wi th x t m h ng inadj u tm nt and u nt
-
.

e er a ss e ar r sec e re ec a es s e s c rre
Th i alw y om un rtai nty onthi or wh n p a u d in h m int l graph l in b u ofth di tin t m h ani al a ange
.

3 ere s a ss e ce s sc e e re e ters are se t e a ee e, eca se e s c ec c rr

m nt forr p ating th i gnal inth tw od i ti on R p at
e s e e es s th r fo to b avoid d a f a p a ti abl
e rec s . e e ers are e e re e e s ar s rc c e.
Ch onom t ign l w fo m ly u d th t i th hronom t w al t n ly mad to nd th i rb k th ough th main lin i ui t
4 r e ers as ere r er se — a s, ec e ers ere er ate e se e rea s r e -
e c rc
ding on both h onograph Som ofth obj ti on to thi m th od w liabili y ofd amag to th poi nt of th b ak i ui t wh l ofth
,

r or
ec c r s e e ec s s e ere t e e s e re c rc ee e
h onom t wh nput onth mainli n po ibili y ofth o d ofon h ronom t i nt rf i ng wi th th o d ofth oth r and p r onal q u ti on
.

c r e er e e e, ss t e rec r ec e er e er e rec r e e e s e a
in adi ng ord th at alway o u d at th am p t ofa ond
,

re a rec s cc rre es e ar sec .

 U CO A ST AND G EO D E T IC U VE Y SPECI A L P U B LIC A T IO N NO
'

. S. S R . 1 4.

Chronometer corrections and rates .

Miami ,
F la.

COM P UT A T I O N OF D I FFE R E N CE O F L O N G I TU D E .

The next st ep is c omp ut ati on ofthe diff erenc e ofl ongi tud e f rom the mean ofthe signals
the
E ach night s obs ervati ons rep res ents a c ompl ete d et erm
’
sent in each direc ti on . i nati on of thi s
diff erenc e and a s ep arat e and c ompl et e c omput ation is acc ordi ngly mad e for each night The
,
.

ep och of signa l s and diff erenc e of chronomet ers are t ak enf rom the rec ord of signal s for each
night and the chronomet er c orrec ti ons at th es e ep ochs are c omput ed for each st ati on and each
,

night us ing the rat es per minut e gi venin the p rec edi ng f orm TO the diff erenc e inchron
,
omet ers .

is th en appli ed the diff erenc e in chro nomet er c orrecti ons ( east ern minus w est ern chronomet er) ,

whi ch gives the diff erenc e of l ongitud e in ti me as d et ermi ned by the ni ght s obs ervati ons
’
.

Fromthis d et ermi nati on the t ransmi ssi on time has already b een eli mi nat ed by t aking the means
of east ern and w es tern signal s .

The ch ronometer correcti on ATat the ti me of exch ang e Tand its p rob abl e error r are
exp ress ed by

AT= AT1 T an d r

wh ere AT , and i r ,
are the chronomet er c orrec ti on and its p rob abl e error d eri ved f rom the
fi rst set of t im e obs ervati ons at ep och T, and AT2 and i rz are the s ame q uantiti es respec
, ,

tively for the s ec ond set at ep och T

, 2
.

Computation ofdiference oflongitude

BE T WE E N MI A MI AN D K E Y WE ST F LA '

, .

d u tiontol ongi tud pi of1 896= 97 m

3
R e c e er eter + 0 002
d u ionto m n po i i onofp ol
.

R e ct ea st el
m
Miami l ongi tud tati on a t ofK y W t l ongi tud i
3
es e s e es e stat on=
=6
° ’
1 36

In the ex ampl e sh own ab ove the s ec ond c ol umn gi ves the mean ep och O f the exch ange
of sig nals as read from the chronograph sh eet at the eastern st ati on, i ami , and the f ourth M
c ol umn gives the c orrecti on to the chronomet er at i ami for the mean ep och O f the signals , M
this c orrecti on b ei ng c omp ut ed f rom the c orrecti ons to the chronomet er and the rat e d educ ed
f rom the ti me O bs ervati ons The thi rd and the fifth c ol umns gi ve si mil ar d at a for the w est ern
.

1 See A strono misch eNachri ch tenN o 4253 . .

 DE T E R M I N A TI O N OF LO N G I TUD E .

,
W
st ati on K ey est The differenc e b etween the chronomet er c orrecti ons (AT) given in the
.

f ou rth and fifth c ol umns is sh own in the s ix th c ol umn and eq uals the c orrecti on at the east ern
st ation mi nus the c orrec ti on at the w es tern s tati on In the next c olu mn is gi ven the diff erence
.

of signals ( east ern minus w est ern) The di fferenc e of l ongi tud e Al is then the c omb ination
.
, ,

ofthe d ifferenc e b etw een the ATs at the tw o st ati ons and the d
’
ifierence ofsignals The trans .

missi on time is t ak en from the f ormon which the record ofsignals and th ei r reduc ti on is sh own ,

and is pl ac ed in the l ast c olu mn whil e in the c ol umn immedi at ely p rec ed ing is pl ac ed the diff er
,

i ght s d et ermi nati on and the mean of the d et erminati ons of all the nigh ts
’
enc e b etw een each n .

The val ues f rom the vari ous nigh ts are each gi ven u nit w eigh t and th eir mean is th en ,

consid ered to b e the obs erved d iff erenc e of l ongit ud e b etw een the t ransi t instru ments at the
tw o st ati ons In the ex ampl e gi ven thi s d iff erenc e has a c orrecti on appli ed to it to red uc e it
W
.

to wh at it w ould h ave b een had the t ransit at the b as e s tati on K ey est b een pl ac ed ex actly , ,

over the p ositi on occ upi ed by the t ransit in 1 89 6 ( adj ust ed in the l ongitud e net of the Uni t ed
St at es) 1 i nst ead of at a p osi ti on met ers east ofit The p articul ar ex ampl e given is one of
W
.

a s eri es of d i ff erenc es of l ongi tud e d etermined in 1 907 c ommenci ng at K ey est and cl os ing
,

on A tl ant a Th ere is also at the l att er pl ac e an adj ust ed l ongitud e s tati on of the l ongi tud e
W
.

net of the Uni ted St at es The l ongit ud es of th es e tw o s t ati ons at K ey es t and Atl ant a
.
, ,

b eing h eld fixed a cl osi ng d iscrep ancy w as d evel op ed which w as dis t rib ut ed eq ually among the
,

vari ous d ifferenc es each di f ferenC e b eing gi ven u ni t w eight The foll owing t abl e shows the
W
.
,

differences of l ongi tud e d et ermi ned b etw een K ey es t and A tl ant a and the distributi on of
the cl os ing error

Computation of closi ng error betw een K ey W

est and A tlanta .

leer
ro
rrir
e

Atlanta w est ofK ey est W 055 +1 0 1 9 759

W
.

w
Atlanta est ofK ey est
( Fromadj usted l ongitude net ofU nited States)
C losing error=

C O RRE C T I O N FOR V A RI A T I O N OF THE P O L E .

A c orrecti on is nec ess ary to red uc e the obs erved astronomic l ongitud e to the m ean p osi
ti on of the p ol e A b ou t the mi ddl e of each y ear the L atitud e Servic e of the Int ernational
.

G eod etic Ass oci ati on publish es in the As tronomisch e N achricht en p rovisi onal valu es of the
-

c oordinat es of the inst ant aneous p ol e for the p receding c al end ar y ear, t og eth er with t abl es to
reduc e obs erved l atitud es , l ongi tud es , and azi mu ths to the mean p osi ti on of the p ol e The .

p rop er c orrecti on to the l ongit ud e may b e c omp ut ed by m eans of th es e t ables , knowing the
t ime of obs ervati on and the l atitud e and l ongitud e of the obs erving st ati on .

D ISC U SSI O N OF E RRO RS WHE N T RAN SI T MI CRO ME T E R I S U S E D .

L et it b e supp os ed th at the regul ar p rogram for obs ervati ons wi th a t ransit micromet er,
three nights obs ervati ons wi th out exch ang e of obs ervers , has b een c arri ed out The c omput ed
’
-
.

result , the differenc e of as t ronomic l ongitud e of the tw o pl ac es , is s ubj ect to the f oll ow ing
error s
1 See A ppendix 2 orthe R eport for 1 897 .
 U . S. CO A ST A N D G EO D E T IC S R U VEY SPECI A L P U B LIC A T IO N NO . 14
.

F ii st An accid ent al error ari sing f rom the accid ent al errors of obs ervati ons of ab ou t 7 2
.

st ars at each st ation. If the accid ental error of obs ervati on of a s ingl e st ar b e es timat ed at
’
which may b e c onsid ered s uffici ently l arg e to c over b oth the ob server s errors and th os e
inst rumental errors which b el ong to the accid ent al cl ass , th en the p rob abl e error of the final
res ult arisi ng from this c aus e w ould i £ 01 2 be 8
. 07 + J §0 = 2
.

Sec ond An accid ental error ari sing f rom the acci dental errors i n the ad op t ed ri ght esc ena
.

si ons of such st ars as are obs erved at one st ati on on a given nigh t b ut not at the oth er I t .

is in s uch c as es onl y th at errors in right asc ensi on h ave any effect on the c ompu t ed res ul t If .

enti rely d iff erent st ars w ere ob served at the tw o st ati ons 2 4 at each st ati on and if i 03 b e 5
, ,

acc ept ed as the p rob abl e error of a right asc ensi on th en the p rob abl e error of the result for one ,

night aris ing from this s ourc e w ould b e 1 0 3 + J IQ = $ 0 0 9 In ordi nary c ases in which the
8 5
.
,

nu mb er of st ars not c om mon to b oth st ati ons is l ess th an 1 0 per c ent this accid ent al error is ,

red uc ed to l ess th an i o0 1 s
. .

Thi rd E rrors due to the ass umpti on th at the rat e of the ch ronomet er is c onst ant d uring
.

and b etw een the tw o time s ets of a n i ght As the int erval b etw een the m ean ep ochs of the
.

s ets is ordinarily only ab out one h our th es e errors are p rob ably exc eedingly s mall In ord er
,
.

to m ak e th es e errors i napp reci abl e l ongitud e obs ervers sh ould use ch ronom et ers known to
,

sh ow but s mall vari ati ons in rat e and sh ou ld p rot ect them as th oroughly as is f easibl e whil e in
,

use ag ainst j ars and sudd en ch ang es of t emp erature The errors f rom this s ou rc e wil l b e of .

ab out the s ame valu e wh eth er the exch ang e ofsignals is mad e at ab out the mean ep och ofthe
tw o s ets oftime obs ervati ons or is mad e at any oth er ep och wit h,
i n the int erval c overed by the
tw o s ets.

F ourth The qu esti on of the p ers onal eq u ati on with the t ransit mic romet er is discuss ed
.

fully on p ages 90 and 9 1 .

F ifth E rrors arisi ng f rom l at eral refracti on The p rob abl e minut eness of th es e errors
. .

in ti me obs ervati ons has already b een c omment ed up on (see p I t is not i mp ossibl e .
,

h ow ever th at s mall c onst ant errors may aris e f rom t his s ou rc e at st ati ons est ablish ed in cl os ely
,

built up p orti ons of great citi es p articul arly ofmanuf actu ring c ent ers
-

,
.

Sixth E rrors ari sing f rom vari ati on of t ransmissi on ti me

. B y t ransmissi on tim e is .

m eant the int erval th at el aps es f rom the i nst ant at which the signal rel ay b reaks the l oc al
ci rcuit at the s ending st ati on to th at at whi ch the signal rel ay b reaks the l oc al ci rcuit at the
rec ei ving st ati on Thi s int erval is m ad e up of arm ature time inducti on time and the t ru e
.
, ,

t ransmissi on time of the el ect ric w ave p assi ng al ong the wi re I t is only the vari ati on in .

t ransmissi on tim e occu rring du ring the exch ang e of signals on each night th at int rod uc es error
int o the c omp ut ed result As t hi s i nt erval is not mu ch over a minut e the error is p rob ably
.

“
ins ensibl e if there is a c ontinu ous wi re c onnecti on b etw een st ati ons I f the line b etw een
st ati ons p ass es th rough a rep eat er the t rans missi on ti me in one di recti on th rough the
”
.

ferent f rom th at in the oth er di recti on unl ess the tw o magnets ofthe rep eat er
rep eat er will b e di f
are adj ust ed ex actly ali k e andh alf this diff erenc e will ent er i nt o the c omput ed result as an error
, .

The rep eat ers u sed in ord inary t el egraph s ervic e are not sp eci ally d esigned for quick acti on,
as are the signal rel ays on the C oast and G eod etic Survey s w itch b oard nor is th ei r adj ust ment ,

in the c ont rol of the l ongitud e obs ervers H enc e the d esi rabili ty of a c ontinu ous wi re
.

c onnecti on .

Any ch ange in t ransmissi on ti me withi n the l oc al ci rcuit du ring the exch ange of signals -

will p roduc e an error in the c omput ed l ongitud e but s uch ch ang es are p rob ably i ns ensibl e , .

A ch ang e at any oth er time in the l ocal ci rcuit wil l app ear in the obs ervati ons as a ch ang e in
the ch ronomet er c orrecti on and will p rob ably h ave no app reci abl e eff ect on the final res ul t
for the night .

Seventh The di ff erenc e of the t rans missi on tim e th rough the tw o signal rel ays and also
.

the dif f erence in the t ransmi ssi on time th rough the tw o t ransit mic romet er rel ays ent er as
errors i n the final result Th es e errors are mad e very s mall in the p res ent longitud e w ork of
.

the Su rvey by using rel ays wh i ch are as nearly alik e as can b e m ad e and which are sp eci ally ,

d esigned to act very quickly .

U . S,
'
C O AST A N D G EO D E T IC
. S R U VEY SPECI A L P U BLIC AT IO N NO . 14
.

SU MMAR Y OF 1R U T S O F T I ME D ET E R MIN AT ION S A T AT L A N TA

ES L .

UMMA R Y O F
S R ES ULT S OF T I ME D E T E R MIN AT ION S A T K E Y WE ST .

A zimuth

4A F R O M WE ST E R N O R AT LA N TA S IG N A L S *
.

Chronom t e er correct ons i

d
U ncorrecte for trans ss on t mi i ime and p r onal q uation
es e
f
7 By ace of chrono et er m .
.

Al F R O M E A ST E R N O R K EY WE ST SIG N AL S .
*

U noorr ed f
ect or tran ss on t mi i ime and persona el q u tion
h
s a
1
‘
f
By ace of c rono eter m .
.
 D E T ER M I N A T IO N OF LO N G I T UD E .

COM BI N AT I O N O F L O N G I TUD E RE S ULT S .

At one t im e it w as the c ust om in the Coast and G eod etic Survey to c ombi ne the resul ting
’
d ifferences ofl ongitu d e for the vari ous nights obs ervati ons by d ed uci ng weights and assig ni ng
them to the vari ous val ues Thi s c ust om is not now p ractic ed wh ere t ransit micromet ers are
.

us ed nor is it foll ow ed wh ere an acc ept ed p rogram is c arried out even if no micrometers are
I f a regul ar p rogram is c arri ed out the vari ous ni gh ts d eterminati ons are gi veneq ual
,
’
us ed
w eight and di rect m eans are t ak en for the final val ue of the difference of l ongi tude How
.

.
,

ever the foll owi ng di sc ussi on ofthe c omb inati on ofl ongi tud e results where the different nights
’
,

observati ons are as sig ned diff erent w eights is gi ven h ere as occ asi on might aris e where the
informati on w ould b e of val ue .

The foll ow i ng t abl e gi ves the c oll ecti on of the res ults for the different nights and th eir
combi nation to d evel op and el imi nat e the t ransmissi on t ime and p ers onal equation The .

m ean of the diff erences of l ongit ud e as d erived from the w est ern and eastern sig nals wi ll b e
free from the t rans missi on time and their difference is d oubl e the t ransmissi on time The rel a
,
.

tive w eigh ts for the res ul ti ng differenc es of l ongitu d e for different nights are d eri ved from the
wh ere p, and p, are the w eights of the d eterminati ons of the chronom
9
11 2
xp ressi onp = P
e
pl pz
t
e er c orrecti ons at the ep och of exch ang e of sig nal s at the tw o st ati ons resp ecti vely , ,

1— 1
or p, — and
2 p2
—
2
m whi ch r1 and r2 are the p rob abl e errors of the chronometer c orrecti ons .

1 2

To obt ai n the p ers onal eq uati onthe weight ed m eans are t ak enfor each p osi tionofthe obs ervers ,

thei r differenc e is the p ers onal eq uation to b e appli ed wi th opp osit e sig ns to the tw o
and h alf
groups This gi ves the c orrect ed res ult for differenc e of l ongitu d e for each night and the
.
,

Weighted m ean of all the nigh ts is the final differenc e of l ongitud e The p rob abl e error of the .

n is the numb er ofnights ofob servati on and 2 is the numb er of

onal eq uati on) . In the t abl e the m eans in the s eventh and ni nth
c olumns w eight ed means
are .

The p ers onal eq u ati on is one -

h alf the difference in the w eigh ted res ults for the tw o p osi
ti ons ofthe obs ervers or ,

1 9 884 — 1 9 645
S— P
2

the sign n
i dic at ing th at S obs erv e s l at er th an P Th e p rob abl e error1
of the p ers onal eq ua .

ti onmay b e t ak enas id entic al wi th th at ofthe resulti ng differenc e ofl ongitud e .

The transmissi on t im e as st at ed is one h alf the differenc e b etw eenthe res ul ts from w est ern
, ,
-

and east ern signal s , or in this an u nusu ally l arge val ue, due to the

m arine c able between K ey Wst e and the m ai nl and .

Table ofresulting diference of longitude between A tlanta

'

, G a
.
,
and Key Wt es , F la .

1 Practi cally th sam r ul t i ob tain d by d ri vi ng parate val ues forth p

e e es s e e se e ersona e l qu tionb y omp ing a h ult inth fir t po i ti onof
a c ar e c res e s s
b
the o ser vers wi th th p ding r ul t in th
e corres on es e secon d p o i tionand omp uting th
s c e p ob bl r orfromth variation inth parat val u
r a ee r e s ese se e es.
 U . S. CO A S T AND G EOD E T IC S U R VEY SPEC IAL P U B LIC A T IO N N O . 1 4.

The ab ove formul ae and forms us ed inthe of

are fic e c ompu tation The field c omp ut ation .

differs from th at m ad e in the offic e in th at the tim e comput ati on is m ad e by an app rox im at e
fi eld method sh own on p ag e 2 6 or p ag e 3 4 inst ead ofthe l east sq uare meth od gi ven onp ag e 4 1 ,
and th at in the fi eld no p rob abl e errors or w eights are c ompu t ed and i ndisc ri mi nat e m eans are
t ak en instead of weight ed m eans In the p ast s ome o
. f the forms us ed in the field h ave b een
sligh tly d ifferent from thos e sh ownab ove The office c omp ut ati onwill b e f acilit ated by making
.

the fi eld c ompu t ati on as h ere i ndic at ed .

P E RSO N A L E Q UATI ON .

The abs olut e p ers onal eq uati on in ti me obs ervati ons wi th a t ransit is the i nt erval of ti me
fromthe ac tual inst ant oft ransit ofa st ar i mag e across a li ne ofthe di aphragm to the inst ant to
whi ch the t ransit is assi gned by the obs erver . W
h en the ti me is obs erved using a chronograph
and an obs erving key the abs olut e p ers onal eq uati on is si mply the tim e requi red for the nerves
and the p orti ons of the b rain c onc erned in an obs ervati on to p erform th ei r f uncti ons In the .

c as e of obs ervati ons by the eye a nd ear meth od the ment al p roc ess b ecomes more invol ved ,

andthe p ersonal equ ati on d ep ends on a much more c omplic ated set ofphysic al andpsych ol ogic al
c ondi ti ons th an wh en the obs ervati ons are mad e wi th a key and chronograph .

Alth ough the p ers onal eq uati on has b een studi ed by many p ers ons and for many y ears ,

li ttl e m ore can b e c onfid ently s aid in reg ard to the l aws whi ch g overn i ts magni t ud e th an th at
’ ’ ’
it is a func ti on of the obs erver s p ers onali ty th at p rob ably wh at ever afl ects the obs erver s
,

physic al or m ent al c ondi ti on aff ects its val u e th at it t ends to b ec ome c onst ant wi th exp eri enc e
, ,

th at i t p rob ably di ffers for sl ow moving and f ast m ovi ng s tars and th at i t is diff erent for very
,

f aint s tars whi ch the obs erver s ees wi th difficul ty f rom wh at it is for st ars easil y s een .

A syst ematic error may b e p res ent which is due to the t end ency of the obs erver to pl ace
the wire alw ays to the right or to the l eft of the c ent er of the st ar s imag e
’
Th is t end ency is
.

’
due to the d ef ects in the obs erver s eye and the error res ul ti ng is c all ed the bisection error A t .

s om e astronomic obs ervat ori es a revers ing p rism is us ed which revers es the im ag e of the st ar
midw ay in the obs ervations Th us d uring one h alf of the obs ervations the Wire w ould be
.
,

pl ac ed too far east and d uring the oth er h alf too far w est of the c ent er of the st ar s image (or
’

vic e vers a) and the m ean of all the obs ervati ons w ould b e free from a b is ecti on error N o .

num eric al valu es are avail abl e for the effect ofthe bisection error b ut it is know n to b e so s mall
th at it may b e negl ect ed in all tim e and l ongitud e w ork for the usu al g eod etic and geographi c
p urp os es (See rem arks u nd er the D escripti on ofthe Z enith T el escop e on p
. .

Th ere are vari ous m ech anic al d evi ces for the d et erminati onofthe abs ol ut e p ers onal eq uati on
ofan obs erver but as th es e are s eld om us ed th ey will not b e di sc uss ed h ere
, .

The rel ati ve p ers onal eq uation oftw o obs ervers is the diff erence ofth ei r abs ol ut e equ ati ons
W
.

h en obs erving ti me with a t ransit micromet er the p ers onal eq uati on if any may b e neg , ,

lected T . he obs erving d oes not c onsist of a s eri es of i nd ep end ent c ons ecuti ve O p erati ons bu t ,

rath er of a c ontinu ous p erf ormanc e the s tar s i mag e b eing bis ect ed by the microm et er wire
’

“
,

b efore the record is b egu n and k ep t bis ect ed till aft er the rec ord is end ed .

In A pp endix 8 of the R ep ort for 1 9 04 enti tl ed A T est ofthe Transit M

, icromet er i t w as ,

sh own th at if th ere is an actu al p ers onal eq uati on in obs erving st ar t ransits with a t ransi t
mi crom eter it is so s mall as to b e mask ed by the oth er errors of obs ervati on Vi ewed in the .

light ofs everal y ears ofact ual l ongitud e obs ervati ons with the t ransit mi cromet er thi s c oncl usi on
is f ull y j ustifi ed . Th es e l ongitud e obs ervati ons invol ved four si mpl e or compoundloop cl os ures i ,

and one d et ermi nati on wi th exch ang e of obs ervers In obs ervi ng di ff erenc es of l ongi tud e to
.

cl os e a loopthe s ame obs erver al w ays k ept in front as the w ork p rog ress ed around the l oop thu s ,

introd ucing int o the l oop cl osu re an acc umul ati on ofany rel ati ve p ersonal equ ati on th at might
ex ist

W
.

In 1 90 6 fou r differenc es d et ermined wi th the t ransit mi crom et er b etw een Seattl e ash , .
,

and the p oint wh ere the one h undred and f orty fi rst m eridi an b ound ary of Al ask a i nt ers ect s
-

the Y uk on R i ver w ere c ombined w ith c ert ain Canadi an res ults to f orm a l oop and the l oop
s econ
, ,

cl osu re w as reduc ed to z ero by applying a c orrecti on of only d to each obs erved

diff erenc e ofl ongitud e .
 U . S
. COA ST AN D G E O D E T IC S R U VEY S PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 1 4.

it may b e nec ess ary to throw one inst rument out of adj ustment (in c oll imati on) m ore th an the
oth er in ord er to avoid h avi ng the obs ervati ons overl ap A b etter arrangem ent w ould b e to .

h ave tw o chronographs c ontroll ed by the s ame chronomet er by means ofl oc al rel ays and h ave ,

the ch ronograph rec ords ofthe tw o i nst ruments i nd ep end ent ofone anoth er The differenc e of .

the tw o chronomet er c orrecti ons thus d etermined c orrect ed for the very s mall l ongi tu d e dif fer
,

enc e b etw een the tw o t ransit i nst ruments is the p ersonal e q uati on ofthe tw o obs ervers Some
,
.

ti mes different ch ronomet ers are u s ed and c omp ared in the Same m anner as in actu al l ongitu d e
d et erminati ons .

The rel ati ve p ers onal equ ati on may als o b e obs erved wi th a si ngl e transit i nstrum ent as
foll ows : O n the first st ar A obs erves the t ransits over the l ines ofthe first h alf ofthe di aph ragm ,

th enquickly gi ves pl ace to Bw hoobs erves the t ransits across the remai nd er ofthe lines omitting ,

the middl e line . O n the s ec ond st ar Bobs erves on the fi rst h alf of the di aph ragm andA f oll ows .

Aft er obs ervi ng a seri es ofst ars th us each l eadi ng alt erna,
tely each obs erver c omp ut es for each ,

s tar from the k nown eq uat ori al int ervals ofthe li nes andfromhis own obs ervations the time of
, , ,

transit ofthe st ar ac ross the mean l ine ofthe di aph ragm The difference ofthe tw od ed uc ed tim es .

of t ransit ac ross the m ean li ne is the rel ati ve p er sonal eq uati on I f each has led the s am e .

numb er of t im es in obs erving the res ult is i nd ep end ent of any error in the ass um ed equat ori al
,

i nt ervals of the lines N o readi ngs of the s tridi ng l evel need b e t ak en and the res ult is l ess
.
,

affect ed by the inst ab ility of the instrument than in the other meth od
o

I f the st ars observed .

by this m eth od are so s el ect ed as to formt ime s ets andthe chronomet er c orrecti ons are c omput ed,
’
from each obs erver s obs ervati ons i nd ep end ently the difference ofth es e chronom et erc orrecti ons
,

will b e the rel ati ve p ers onal equ ati on .

As the acc uracy ofthe t el egraphic d et ermi nati on ofl ongit ud e w it hout the use ofthe t ransit
micrometer d ep ends also up on the c onst ancy ofthe rel ati ve p ersonal equ ati on ofthe tw o obser
vers c oncerned th ere is sh ow n b el ow a t abl e whi ch gi ves s om e valu es of the rel ati ve p er
, sonal
equ ati on as d eri ved f rom tel egraphic l ongitu d e obs ervati ons (k ey and ch ronograph m eth od ) .

The val ues in this t abl e indi c at e to wh at ext ent the rel ati ve p ersonal eq uati on mayb e exp ect ed
to vary from m onth to m onth and y ear to year The pl us sig n indic at es th at the obs erver .

first nam ed obs erves l at er (sl ow er) th an the oth er .

R elative personal equation (not reduced to equato

r) .

c H Si ncl ai r — E S it mh c H Si ncl a
i r— R A Mart
y ya
. . . . . . .

[1 4 ears] [4 e rs]

+ 1 09

MeanS .

Prob . error* gl
ofa si n e val ue s o me
MeanS — M= . .
+ 0 241 .

Prob . error* ofa si n e va uegl l t o026

.

Thi l mayb
s va ue k
e ta enas a measure ofthe vari abili ty ofthe p ersonal eq uati on .
 DE T E R MI NA T ION OF LONGI T UDE .

E ach val ue in the t abl e d ep ends up on8 or 1 0 nights ofobs ervati on, 4 or 5 nights each b ef ore
andaf ter the exch ang e ofobs ervers , andmayth eref ore b e c onsid ered to b e a meanval ue c overing
a p eri od off romtw o w eeks to a month or more I t is i mp rob abl e th at the vari ati onofthe rel a .

tive p ersonal equ ati onf romnight to nigh t is as s mall as w ould b e i nf erred d irectly f rom the ab ove
t abl e The error due to p ers onal eq uati on remai ni ng in the d ed uc ed l ongit ud e aft er the
.
,

exch ang e of obs ervers is one h alf the diff erenc e b et w een the mean val ue of the rel ati ve p ers onal
,
-

equ ati on b ef ore the exch ang e of obs ervers and its mean val ue aft er the exch ang e .

DI SCU SSI ON O F E RRO R S WH E N K EY AN D CHRON O G R AP H AR E U SE D .

This discussi on is b as ed up on the s upp ositi on th at the reg ul ar p rogramfor l ongitud e obser
vations wh en using an obs ervi ng key and ch ronograph c onsisti ng of 5 nigh ts each b ef ore and ,

aft er exch ang e ofobs erver s has b een c arri ed out and als o th at the meth od ofs el ecti on ofst ar
,
s ,

is the one f ormerly in use on p ri mary l ongit ud e w ork in this Su rvey in which a tim e set con ,

sis t ed of 1 0 s tars 5 b efore and 5 aft er revers al of the h oriz ont al axis
,
.

"
Th es e s ourc es of error are gi ven the s am e ord er as th os e sh own on p ag es 85 87 und er the —

h ead ing : D iscussi on ofE rrors wh en T ransit M i c romet er is U s ed .

F irst An accid ent al error arisi ng f rom the accid ent al errors of obs ervati ons of 2 00 s tars
.

at each s t ati on I f the accid ent al error ofobs ervati on of a singl e s t ar b e es ti mat ed at
.

and t his is su rely a s uffici ently l arg e esti mat e to c over b oth the obs erver s errors and t h os e
’

i nstru ment al errors whi ch b el ong to the accid ent al cl ass the p rob ab l e error of the fi nal result
W
,

a r isi ng f ro m thi s c aus e w ould b e i O IO J J = i O fi

OlO P
.

Sec ond The s tat em ent on p ag e 86 reg ardi ng the accid ent al error arisi ng from the aeci
.

d ent al errors in the ad op t ed right asc ensi ons of the st ars us ed is applic abl e to all m eth ods of ,

obs ervi ng .

Thi rd F or a st at ement reg ardi ng the errors due to the vari ati on of the rat e of the chrom
. e

m eter see p ag e 86 .

F ourth E rrors arisi ng from the vari ati on of the rel ati ve p ers onal eq uati on from night to
.

nigh t . Th ese are p rob ably among the l arg es t errors i nvol ved in l ongit ud e d et erminations A .

const ant error not eliminated by the ex c

,
h ang e ofobs ervers may p ossibly aris e from this s ourc e ,

if the t emp erat ure altit ud e m oist ure c onditi ons etc are very d ifferent at the two s t ati ons
, , ,
.
,
.

O ther than this the errors arisi ng from this s ourc e b elong to the accid ent al cl ass wh en con
,

sideredwith ref erenc e to the c omp ut ed d iff erenc e ofl ongit ud e and are exhibit ed in the residu als

corresp ond ing to the s ep arat e nights of observati on .

F if th The st at ement c onc erni ng errors due to l at eral refraction on p ag e 86 is equ ally
.

applic abl e h ere .

Sixth N 0 ch ang e is nec ess ary in the st at ement on p ag e 86 reg arding the errors due to
.

vari ati on in the transmissi on ti me .

Seventh The dif . ferenc e of the t rans missi on ti me through the tw o sig nal rel ays ent ers as
an error in the final res ult This error is mad e very s mall in the p resent w ork of the Survey
.

by the use off ast acting sig nal rel ays which are as nearly al ik e as p ossibl e I t might b e fu rth er
-
.

red uc ed if each obs erver c arri ed his own swi tchb oard with himwh enexch ang e ofs t ati ons is m ad e .

As s t at ed on p ag e 87 if the diff erenc e in l ongit ud e whi ch is b ei ng m easu red is l arg e say

, ,

m ore th an 3 0 minu t es of time it is w ell to ab and on the p ractic e ofend eavoring to obs erve the
,

same s t ars at b oth st ati ons to s uch an ext ent as w ill b rin g the exch ang e oftime signals near the
middl e of the tim e obs ervati ons at each s t ati on The error ofright asc ension th us introduc ed .

w ill b e m ore th an offs et by the acc uracy g ained by the p rop er pl aci ng of the exch ang e .

Are th ere app reci abl e errors whi ch are c ons t ant for the ni ght in the ti me d etermi nati ons
or in the oth er op erati ons invol ved in the d et erminati on of a l ongit ud e di f f erenc e by the t el e
graphi c m eth od ; and if so wh at is the averag e m agni t ud e of s uch errors ? The exc ess of the
,

p rob abl e error of a l ongit ud e differenc e c omp ut ed as i ndi c at ed on p ag e 89 over i ts val ue asde
ri ved from the c ompu t ed p rob abl e errors of the chronomet er c orrecti ons at exch ang e is due to
errors w h i ch are c onst ant for an dp ec uli ar toeach night U si ng this p rincipl e ‘ the error p ec uli ar .

F or the or f mul a
e d
use ina pplyi ng a i mil r pri n ipl
s a c e to at l i tud b e o servat i on
s, see pp . 1 1 9—1 23 .
 U COA ST AN D G E O D E T IC U VEY PECIAL PU BLICA TION NO 14
'

. S
. S R S . .

to a ni ght has b een c omp ut ed from fift een l ongi tud e d eterminati ons made sinc e 1 890 I t w as .

found th at the error p eculi ar to each night andth erefore not c ap abl e ofeliminati on by increasing
,

the numb er of obs ervati ons per night exp ress ed as a p rob abl e error w as 31;,
whil e ,

the p rob abl e error in the result for a night arising from accid ental errors of obs ervati on and ,

th eref ore c ap abl e of fu rth er eliminati on by inc reas ed obs ervati on w as i I t sh ould ,

b e noted th at the errors disc uss ed und er all b ut the firs t h eading ab ove are each c ap abl e ofcon
trib uting to the error p eculi ar to a ni ght I t is lik ely th at vari ati on in the p ers onal eq uati on is
.

the mos t p ot ent c aus e of s uch errors I t is evi d ent from the p rob abl e errors gi ven ab ove th at
.

very li t tl e is l ost in ulti mat e acc uracy if cl ouds i nterf ere so as to cut of f a p art say one—f ourth , ,

of the reg u l ar p rog ram of ti me obs ervati ons ( tw o s ets of ten st ars each ) and th at al mos t no ,

g ai n in acc uracy w ould res ul t from l eng th ening the p rog ram .

Are th ere app reci abl e errors in a t el eg raphi c d et ermi nati on of a diff erenc e of l ongi t ud e
which are c ons tant for the i nterval ofs everal d ays over whi ch the d et ermi nati on ext ends ; and,
if so wh at is the averag e magnit ud e ofs uch errors ?
,
W
e may obt ai n an answ er to thi s q uesti on

by comp aring the p rob abl e errors of l ongi tud e diff erenc e c omp ut ed as on p ag e 89 wi th the
s ame p rob abl e errors as comp ut ed from the resid uals d evel op ed in adj us ting s uch a l ongi t ud e
net as th at gi ven in A pp endix N o 2 of the R ep ort for 1 897 . The exc ess of the l ast nam ed .
-

p rob abl e errors over the first nam ed is due to errors whi ch are const ant for the st ati on d uring
-

the ti me of occ up ati on From the p ublish ed adj ustment of the great l ongitud e net ref erred
.

to ab ove (see pp 2 46 247 2 5 5 ofR ep ort for

.
, , ,
af ter omi tti ng the firs t el even d et erminati ons

( all m a d e n o t l at er th an 1 87 2 ands ev era

,
l invo l vi ng t rans A tl an tic c a bl es ) and the fifty
—eighth d
-

t erminati on ( p ubli c ati on inc ompl et e) it foll ows th at the c onst ant error p eculi ar to each l ongi
,

t ud e d et erminati onandnot c ap abl e ofeliminati on by increasing the nu mb er ofnights per st ati on ,

exp ress ed as a p rob abl e error is i 0 0 22 whil e the accid ent al error of the d ed uc ed di f ferenc e
8
.
, ,

of l ongit ud e whi ch is c ap abl e of f urth er red uc ti on by i ncreasing the numb er of n

, i ghts per
st ati on ( b ey ond the st and ard numb er ten) is j ; ,
I t f oll ows th at a red ucti on of the
,

nu mb er ofnights per st ati on to six or even four w ould res ult in b ut a slight d ec reas e in accu
, ,

racy —
ab out 1 0 per c ent Three s ourc es of errors p eculi ar to a st ati on in the ord er of th ei r
.

p rob abl e m agni t ud e are th os e menti oned und er the f ourth sixth s eventh and fifth h eading s , , ,

ab ove namely : Vari ati on in p ers onal eq uati on vari ati on in trans m
,
issi on ti me ( esp eci all y wh en
,

a rep eater i nt errupts a ci rc uit ) the d ifl erence ofthe tw o signal rel ay ti mes and p ossibly l at eral
'

, ,

refracti on in s ome c as es .

R E DUC T I O N TO ME AN P O SI T I O N OF P O LE .

Thi s c orrecti on will b e appli ed in the offic e in acc ord anc e wi th the P reliminary R esul ts
p ublish ed annual ly by the Int ernati onal G eod etic Ass oci ati on (see p .

A S T A T EMEN T OF CO ST S .

Sinc e 1 90 6 forty tw o di f
-
ferenc es in l ongit ud e h ave b een d et ermined in the Uni t ed St at es ,
using the transit mi c rom et er F orty one w ere d et erm
. i ned in f our s eas ons
-

The averag e c ost .

for the fi eld w ork and p rep aring for the fi eld , i ncl udi ng all exp enses and s al ari es , w as $440 .

The averag e c ost per diff erenc e for the vari ous s easons vari ed from $360 to $550 The cos t ofa .

diff erenc e of l ongit ud e b etw een tw o pl ac es wi ll vary acc ording to the c onditi ons u nd er whi ch
w ork is d one, and c ons eq uently it sh ould b e pl anned to h ave the p arti es in the fi eld wh en the
w eath er may b e exp ect ed to b e most f avorabl e The w ork sh ould b e l oc ali z ed for any s eas on.

as much as is p ossibl e The l ong er the s eas on the more ec onomi c all y sh oul d thew ork b e d one
.
.

I f p ossibl e, the st ati ons sh ould b e l oc at ed near the line of the t el eg raph in ord er to avoid the
d el ay and the exp ens e of b uilding a l ong line to the obs ervat ory The d et er inati on of l ongi .
m
t ud e differenc es t el egraphic al ly in remot e regi ons , s uch as Al ask a, may c ost from three to six
or m ore ti mes the averag e cost of a diff erenc e in the Unit ed St at es .

N o d at a are readily avai l abl e sh owing the c ost of the d et ermi nati on of longi t ud es
t el egraphi c ally , using the key and chronograph But owing to the nec essity of exch anging .
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC U VEY
S R PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO
S . 14 .

A ru nning ch ronomet er sh oul d alw ays b e p rot ect ed as c aref ully as p ossibl e ag ai nst j ars ,

and esp eci ally ag ai nst such sh arp quick j ars as res ul t f rom s ett ing it d ow nup on a h ard s u rf ac e .

E ith er the s urf ac e up onwhich it is set sh ould b e p add ed or a cushi on sh oul d b e c arri ed with the
chronomet er . W
h en it b ec om es nec ess ary to c arry a ch ronomet er in the h and — as for ex ampl e , ,

wh ena h ack chronomet er is c arried b ack andf orth b etw eenanob servat ory and a st eam er in con
nectionwith chronometric l ongit ud es — the gi mb als should b e l ocked to p revent the ch ronomet er
fromswinging I t is imp ort ant th at the l ocking should b e d one ins uch a w ay th at th ere will b e
W
.

no l ooseness and the c orresp ondi ng t end ency to a ch ucking m oti on h il e the c hronom et er is .

b eing c arried swinging of the arm sh ould b e avoid ed as m uch as p ossibl e Any s winging of
,
.

the ch ronomet er in azim uth is esp eci ally obj ecti onabl e as it t ends to mak e it skip s ec onds and ,

to d am ag e it. Chronomet ers h ave b eenk now n to ski p s econds p rob ably from t his c aus e even , ,

in the h ands of an exp eri enc ed and c areful offi c er O n shipb oard ch ronom et ers sh ould b e l eft
.
.

f ree to swing in th eir gi mb al s which sh ould b e so adj ust ed th at the f ac e ofthe chronomet er will
,

b e app rox im at ely h oriz ont al Anych ang e in this adj ustm ent is apt to p roduc e a ch ange ofrat e
. .

C OM P A RI SO N OF CHRON OME T ER S BY CO INCI D E N C E OF B E AT S .

The p rocess sid ereal and a m ean tim e chronom et er is analogous to th at of

of c omp aring a
reading a verni er The sid ereal chronom et er g ains gradu ally on th e m ean tim e chronometer
'

.
,

and onc e in ab out three minut es the tw o chronom eters tick ex actly t og eth er ( one
As one l ooks al ong a verni er to fi nd a coincid enc e so one l ist ens to this audibl e verni er andw aits,

for a c oincid enc e As in reading a vernier one sh ould l ook at lines on each sid e ofthe s upp os ed
.

coincid ence to ch eck and p erh aps correct the read ing by obs erving the s ymm et ry of adj ac ent
,

lines so h ere one listens for the app roaching c oincid enc e hears the ticks nearly t ogether app ar
, , ,

ently h ears th em ex actly t ogeth er f or a few s econds and th en h ears th em b egin to s ep arat e , ,

and not es the real c oincid enc e as b eing at the inst ant ofsymm et ry The time ofcoincid ence is .

not ed by the f ac e of one of the chronomet ers Just b efore or j us t aft er the obs ervation of the
.

c oincid enc e the d iff erenc e ofthe s econds read ings ofthe tw o chronom et ers is not ed to the nearest
half s ec ond (eith er m ent ally or on p ap er) This d iff erenc e s erves to give the s econds reading
.

of the s ec ond chronom et er at the inst ant of c oincid enc e The hours and minut es ofb oth chro
W
.

nometers are obs erved directly hen a numb er of chronometers are to b e int erc omp ared the
.
,

exp eri enc ed obs erver is abl e to pick out from among th em tw o th at are ab out to c oincid e He .

c omp ares thos e s el ects tw o m ore th at are ab out to c oincid e and c omp ares them and so on;
, ,

and thus to a c ert ain ext ent avoids the w aits ofa minut e anda h alf on an averag e which w ould
, ,

oth erwise b e nec ess ary to s ecu re an obs ervati on on a p air of chronom et ers s el ect ed arbit rarily .

At Sitk a on J uly 1 3 1 894 it w as obs erved th at 1 8h 3 0 n

, , on chronom et er N o 1 94 ‘
I
.

d = h m n n n m
( si ere al) 1 1 5 2 o chr o o m et er N o 2 0 8 ( m ea tim e); and th at 1 1 h
1 5 . on
chronom et er N o 1 5 1 0 (mean time) = 1 4h 48m
. on ch ronom et er N o 3 87 (sid ereal ) It . .

w as known th at at the epoch of the comp arisons the correction of N o 1 94 to Si tk a sid ereal .

tim e w as — 1 m and of N o 1 5 1 0 to Sitk a m ean t im e w as

. 6 m The requ ired
corrections to N o 20 8 and N o 3 87 were c omput ed as f oll ows :
. .

in m a
Time b y 1 94 1 8 30 T ime b y 1 51 0
Correction to 1 94 — 01 Correction to 1 51 0
Sidereal time 1 8 28 1 3 99 . M ean time
Sidereal time of mean noon= 7 26 53 66 . Correction mean to sidereal
Sidereal inte rval 11 01 20 33
.
11 10 59 09
.

Correction, sidereal to mean -

7 01 48 34
.
7 26 53 66.

10 59 3 1 99
. 1 8 37 52 .

=1 1 52 30 00
.
14 48

— 52 2 8 01
.
+3 49 42 7 5
.

The correction to reduc e m ean t im e int erval or vice versa may b e t aken
a sid ereal to a , ,

from the t abl es in the b ack p art of the Am eric an E ph emeris The sid ereal tim e of m ean noon . .
 DE TE R MINA T ION or LONGI T U D E .
97

may be t aken f rom th at p art meris h ead ed

Sol ar eph em eris , andit sh ould not b e
of the E ph e
overl ook ed th at it is the s id ereal time oflocal m ean noon th at is req uired , and th at, th eref ore, the
longit ud e ( app roxim at e) of the st ation m ust b e t ak en i nto account The c orrec tion to b e
W
.

appli ed to ashing ton sid ereal t im e of mean noon to obt ain th at for the s tation is the sam e as
the c orrection to red uc e a m ean t i m e int erval eq ual to the l ongi tud e of the st ation f rom ash W
ing ton to a sid ereal i n terval .

COM P U T A T I O N OF L ON G I T UD E FRO MA SIN GL E R OUN D T RI P .

From correction ofeach st ation chronomet er at the

the operations at Anch orage P oint the
ep och of each set of ti me obs ervations b ec am e k nown The int erc omp aris ons on sh ore b efore .

l eaving for the st eam er and aft er ret urning tog eth erwith the assu mp tion th at each s tation ,

chronometer ru ns at a uniformrat e b etween tim e s ets g ave five s ep arat e d et erminations of the ,

c orrection to the h ack at the ep och of the s teamer c omp aris ons .

Thus on J une 1 8 1 894 at 3 45 by its own f ace the mid dle ep och of the st eamer com
,
h
, ,
.
,

p arisons the correction to the h ack ( N o 3 80 ) w as

,
.

M ean
Wight d m
e e ean

The comp arisons ofN o . 3 80 N o 49 69 at the s tation on this

d at e comp ut ed up on the
wi th .
,

supp osition th at N o 496 9 ran at a unif orm rat e b etw een p rec eding and f ollowing time obs erva
.

tions sh ow ed th at the c orrection to N o 3 80 at 2 h 64 by its f ac e w as 2 m

,
and at 4 36
h
. .
-
.

w as — 2 m Ass uming it to run unif ormly b etw een th es e ep ochs its c orrec tion w as ,

at 3 45 as sh ow n ab ove
h
. .
,

An ex amination of the d aily rat es of the five chronom et ers sh owed th at N o 2 63 7 ran very .

irreg ul arly and th at N o 3 80 did not run as reg ul arly as the oth er three Henc e thes e chro
,
. .

nometers w ere assigned l ess weight th a n the oth ers as indic at ed ab ove , .
1

Using the w eight ed m ean val ue for the c orrec ti on to N o 3 80 at the ep och of the s teamer .

comp aris ons th ese comp aris ons give thec orrec tion ofeach traveling ch ronom eter on Anchorag e
P oint tim e .

Sim il ar op erations at Si tk a g ave the correc tion to each traveling ch ronometer on Si tk a

tim e on each arrival at and d ep art ure from Si tk a .

Computation ofdiference oflongi tude ofSi tka and A nchorage P oint .

F I R ST T R I P STA R T I NG F R O M ANCHO R AG E PO I NT .

i k My20
S t a, a

l U consid ered d i bl
es ra e, the re at ve l i w ight
e s to b e ass ign d
e i h
to the stat onc rono eter
s m may b e d etermi ned more accurately by th
e method
li d in th footnot
out ne e e on p . 1 00 .

83
1 G ° — 1 3— 7
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC U VEY
S R S PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

Computation of di erence of longitu e f S

d fi i k nd A n h P i n Continu ed
'

o t a a c orage o t—
.

F I R ST T R I P STA R T I NG F R O MAN CHO R AG E P O I NT—Conti nu d e .

Total ik
At S t a Trave ln
ig

In the form on p ag e 97 thec olu mn h ead ed Chr ep och gives the f ac e read ing of the chro .

nometer, exp res sed in h ours and h und red ths (rath er th an mi nut es and s ec onds ) for c onveni enc e
in c ompu t ation The c orrecti ons at Anch orag e P oint are to the l oc al t ime of th at s t ati on, and
.

at Si tk a to Sitk a l oc al t ime .

In the f orm ab ove, the s ec ond and th ird c olumns gi ve the el aps ed chronom eter t im e and
the accu mul ated rate b etw een the Anch orag e P oint st eamer c omp aris ons , and the f ourth and
fifth c olumns gi ve the s ame quanti ties b etw een the Sitk a st eam er c omp aris ons The s ec ond
-

m
c ol umn inus the fourth , and the third minus the fif th are the traveli ng time ( b oth w ays) and
the accu mul ated rat e whil e traveling , from which the d aily t raveling rate as gi ven in the eighth
c olumn b ec omes known The ninth c olumn gives the travel ing ti me b etw een s t eamer com
.

p arisons fromAnchorag e P oint to Sitk a, and the t enth c ol umn gives the accu mul at ed rat e dur
ing this int erval c omp uted by the use of the eigh th c olum n Thi s acc umul ated rat e b eing .

appli ed as a c orrec ti on to the ch ronometer c orrection on Anch orag e P oi nt ti me at the b egin

ning of the trip gives the correc tion on Anch orage P oint time on arri val at Sitk a This .

diff erenc e su b tract ed from the di rec tly obs erved c orrec ti on on Sitk a time at th at ep och , shown
in the u pp er form, gives the requi red differenc e of l ongitud e .

I t sh ould b e noted th at inthis computation the traveling rat e is supp osed to b e a const ant
during the round trip , b ut is not assumed to b e the s ame as the rat e whil e in p ort .

The l ongitud e d ifferenc e if computed from the return h alf ofthe t rip , f rom Sitk a to Anch or
age P J int, w ould nec ess arily by this p roc ess ofc omp u t ati on b e id entic al wi th th at sh own ab ove .

I f the steamer had s topp ed so sh ort a time at Si tk a th at only one set ofs teamer c omp ari
s ons had b een mad e w hile th ere, as w as frequ ently the c ase, the ab ove c ompu t ation w ould h ave
b een si mp lified in an ob vious manner .

C OM B I N AT I O N OF RE SU LT S .

The di fferenc e th us comp ut ed from each traveling chron

of l ongit ud e w as omet er for
each round t rip st arting fromAnch orag e P oint the l ast h alf t rip ( 7 % round t rips b eing m ad e)
, ,

from Anch orag e Point to Si tk a b eing omitt ed A simil ar comp ut ation w as al so mad e for
, .

each round trip st arting from Si tk a the first h alf t rip Anchorag e P oint to Si tk a now b eing
, , , ,

om i t ted 1
E ach of th es e c omp ut ati ons w ould b e s ubj ect to a c onstant error if the t ravel ing
.

chronometers had uniforml y acc el erat ed or uniforml y ret ard ed rat es b ut th eir mean is free ,

from this error O ne h alf of the comput ation als o serves as a ch eck on the oth er h alf
. .

1 Ifthe stea mer had returned

g i An ho g P i nt o a to ompl t igh t round trip ll ofth igh t would h v b n u d in th
a an to c a e
r o s s c eee s, a ee a e ee se e
fi t omp utati on; and in th ond ompu ati n ( ound trip t rting f mSi tk ) th l t t ip f om Si ka to An horag Point ombin d wi th
,

rs c e sec c t o r s, s a ro a e as r r t c e c e
th fi t t ip in th oppo i t di ti on w ould h v b n u d igh h ound t ip Thi p in ipl of omputn i g th difl nc ofl ongi tud
,

rs r s e rec th a e ee s as t r
'
e e e ee r s r c e c e ere e e
f omth ound trip t ti ng f om a h t ti nin turn nd ombi ni ng th two ul w u d forth fi t ti m by A i t nt C A S hott m
, .

r e r s s ar r e c sa o a c e res ts as s
e e r
s e ss s a c
1 857 in d i vi ng th diff r n ofl ongi tud ofSav nnah G a and F rnandina F la ( See C oa t Surv y R p ort f
or 1 857 pp 3 1 4
, . .

er e e e ce e a , .
, e , . s e e . .
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E TIC U VEY
S R S PECIAL PU BLICA T IO N NO . 14 .

WE I G H T S A SSI G NE D TO SE P ARA T E CHRON OM E T E R S .

c urs ory ex ami nation of such a t abl e as th at gi ven on the p rec eding p age sh ows
E ven a
th at s ome chronomet ers run much more uniforml y th an oth ers and th erefore furnish d et ermina ,

ti ons ofthe l ongit ud e d iff erenc e which are entitl ed to great er w eight L et la ln b e the .
,

d erived val ues ofthe diff erenc e ofl ongit ud e as gi ven by one chronomet er on the different trips ,

and let I b e th eir mean L et n b e the numb er of t rips Th en by the ordinary l aws of l east
. .
,

sq uares assigning eq ual w eights to the s ep arat e t rips the p rob abl e error of any one of th es e
, ,
’
l s is

The w eight p invers ely p rop orti onal ,

to the sq uare of this p rob abl e error to b e as signed to
a ch ronometer is p rop orti onal to ,

The c omp ut ati on ofw eights may b e put in the f oll owi ng c onveni ent t abul ar f orm
COM P U T A T I ON OF WE I G H T S .

F romthe seven round trips startingfromA nchorage P oi nt .

F om imila
r s l f
rresu ts ro msevenround ip
tr s start n i g f omSi k a
r t .

simil ar c omp ut ati onw as mad e using the s even round trips s tarting fromSitk a the res ults
A
of which are sh own i nthe l ine mark ed
-

by 2 d c ombination and the w eights w ere d eri ved

” “ ,
,

f rom the mean results of the two c omp utations

.

‘
.

DI SCU SSI ON O F E RROR S .

The error in a d iff erenc e of l ongit ud e obs erved indic at ed in the p rec ed and c o mpu t ed as
ing s ecti ons d ep ends up on the errors in the t ransit time ob servati ons errors in the c omp aris on
“
,

of chronomet ers errors aris ing from vari ati ons i n the rat es of chronomet ers and finally the
, , , ,

rel ati ve p ers onal eq uati on of the tw o ob servers c onc erned .

1 l i ig d to th tation h onom t wh n th y r u d to d t min th o ti on of th ha k at th po h of

The re at ve weights to b e ass ne es c r e ers e e ae se e er e e c rrec e c ee c
th t am omp ari on m igh t b omput d by n an logou p o ti ontoa hronom t rat th po h oft an it tim h r
‘
ese erc s s L t 0 b th o
ec e a a s r cess e e e c rrec c ee ee c r s e e se
v tion a d t m in d f omth o ob v ti on ti on t that am po h int rp ol t d b tw nit ob s rv d corr ction t th last
.

a s s e er e L tIb i
r o se ser a s. e e tsc rrec a s ee c e ae e ee s e e e sa e
p ding and fi t foll owing t n i t ti m ob rvation on th a ump tionthat it t d u ing that interval i on tant F ora group of h onom
rece rs ra s e se s e ss srae r sc s c r e~
t r who tion a all d t min d a numb of ti m in u ion by th am t an it ob rvation th lativ w igh t ar vid ntly
.

e s o se c rrec s re e er e er es s c cess e s e r s se s, e re e e s e e e

p opo ion l to 2
r rt
l
a .
 D ETE R MI N A T I O N or LO NGI T UDE . 1 01

The errors in the tim e obs ervations will in general b e very s mall in c omp aris on with the
oth er errors af fecting the result F or the p rob abl e m agnit ud e of the tim e errors see the first
.

p art of this public ation In App endix N o 3 of the R ep ort for 1 89 4 and in N o 3 of 1 895 may
. . .

b e f ou nd d et ail ed st at em ents of the results of s everal d et erminati ons ofl ongi tu d e by the chro
nometric m eth od which will s erve to gi ve a c onc ret e id ea ofthe magnitud e ofthe errors invol ved
in such d et erminations The rel ative m agnit ud e of the errors aris ing from the tim e determi
.

nati ons inc reas es as the ti me, N (see p req uired f

. or a round t rip d ec reas es .

The errors m ad e in c omp aring chronom et ers by the meth od of c oincid enc es are negligibl e
in th eir eff ect up on the final result The ch ecks obt ained d uring the int erc omp aris ons of
.

chronom et ers sh ow th at the p rob abl e error in a singl e c omp aris on is ab ou t c orresp ond
ing to a p rob abl e error f b u t 1
o a o 4°
in estimating the ti me ofc oincid enc e of ticks .

The errors aris ing from vari ati ons in the rat es ofchronomet ers are by far the m ost s eri ous
cl ass of errors involved in chronom etric d et erminations of l ongitud e The t abl e of results .

given on p ag e 9 9 gives a f air indic ati on of the m agnit ud e ofthe errors to b e exp ect ed from this
s ourc e .

The vari ous t raveling chronomet ers s ubj ect ed to vari ati ons of t emp erat ure humidity
are , ,

and b arom etric p ressu re and to dist urb anc es arising f rom the m otion o
,
f the shi p which are ,

com mon tothemall D o th es e c ommon c onditi ons p rod uc e variations inrat e which are c omm on
.

to all the c hronom et ers and th erefore int rod uc e a c omm on error int o the vari ous valu es of the
,

l ongitud e d iff erenc e result ing from any one trip ? An ex ami nation of the res ults ofsix chrono
metric d eterminati ons of l ongitud e in Al ask a p rinted in the 1 894 and 1 895 R ep orts indic at es
, ,

th at such errors in the d edu c ed l ongit ud es c omm on to all the chronom et ers on a given trip
, ,

are exc eedingly s mall up on an averag e so sm all th at th ey are c onc eal ed by the accid ent al
—

errors .

Chronom et ers are c omp ens at ed for t emp eratu re as w ell as p ossibl e by the m aker bu t ,

such c omp ens ati on is nec ess arily s omewh at imp erfect In general h ow ever this c omp ens a .
, ,

ti on is so nearly p erfect th at littl e or nothing is g ained in accu racy by d eri ving and us ing tem
a tur c oeffici ents c onnecting the t emp eratu re and the rat e Th ere are occ asi onal ex ce
p
p er e .

ti ons ; for ex ampl e the H u tt on chronom et er N o 1 94 (see pp 7 7 — 7 8 of the R ep ort for 1 894)
,
. .

sh ows a very l arg e vari ati on in rat e due to ch ang e of t emp erat ure .

In c onsid ering the errors due to vari ati ons in chronom et er rat es it sh ould not b e overlook ed
th at the s t ation chronom et ers are d ep end ed up on to c arry the tim e over the interval from the
neares t t im e obs ervations to the s t eam er c omp aris ons in p recis ely the s am e m anner in which
the t raveling ch ronom eters are d ep end ed up on d uring the t rip I t is b ec ause of this f act th at
.

it mayb e d esirabl e during p eriods ofvery b ad w eath er to s uppl em ent the t ransit obs ervations
up onst ars b y transit obs ervations up on the sun as i ndic ated on p age 5 1 or inlow l atitud es by
, ,

th eodolit e or vertic al c ircl e obs ervati ons for tim e or even b y s ext ant obs ervations for tim e
, .

U nless the rel ative p ers onal eq uation is el im i n at ed f rom the c omp ut ed l ongitud e it is apt

to b e one of the l arg es t errors af fecting the m ean res ult exc ep t wh en the round t rip s are very
,

long or very few chronom et ers are c arried I t may b e eliminat ed b y any of the m ethod s sug
.

ges ted on p ag es 90— 93 .

Ass uming th at the rel ative p ers onal eq uati on is elimi nat ed by d irect d et ermination or
oth erwis e the error ofthe m ean resul t ofa chronom etric l ongitud e d et erminati on wil l b e nearly
,

invers ely p rop ortional to the s q uare root of the numb er of chronom et ers c arri ed (p rovid ed the
s t ations are s uppli ed with a s uffici ent numb er of g ood chronom et ers to m ak e the shore errors
s mall ) to the squ are root ofthe numb er ofround t rips and the sq uare root ofthe averag e valu e
, ,

ofN ( the int erval over whi ch the tim e is c arried by the chronom et ers ) I t will d ep end very i nti . ~

m at ely up on the q uality of the chronomet ers and up on the c are w ith which th ey are p rot ect ed
from t emp erat ure ch ang es andj ars I t w ill b e affect ed very lit tl e b y ani nc reas e in the errors of
.

the tim e obs ervations p rop er result ing f rom very fragm ent ary obs ervati ons on cl oudy nights or
,

from s ubstituting s om e m ore app roxim at e meth od for t rans it obs ervations up on st ars .

From the ab ove p rincipl es and the numeric al val ues gi ven in App endix N o 3 of the 1 894 .

R ep ort and in N o 3 ofthe 1 89 5 R ep ort one maym ake an estimat e ofthe errors to b e exp ected
.
,
 U . S
. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC U VEY
S R P CIAL P U BLICA T ION NO
S E . 14
.

ifthe ab ove el ab orate pl an ofop erations can b e c arried out only in p art , as, for ex ampl e, wh en
an obs erver d etermines the l ongit ud e of a new s t ation by m ak ing a singl e t rip to it , c arrying a
few chronomet ers only and mak ing all t ime obs ervations at b oth ends of the trip h ims elf .

In connection with any pl an of op erations which invol ves l ong interval s b etw een the
arri val at andthe d ep art ure f rom a givens t ation, it should b e k ept inmind th at the c omp ut ation
us ual ly invol ves the assu mption th at the rat es of the t raveli ng chronomet ers are the s am e on
the t rip to the st ati on as on the ret urn t rip , and therefore a l ong st ay at the s t ation is apt to
i ncreas e the error ofthe fi nal result by gi ving the chronomet ers a l ong t ime to acqu ire new rates .

U nd er extreme c onditions it may s ometi mes b e w ell to avoid thi s ass umpti on and to use a
sep arat e travel ing rat e for each h alf t rip d erived f rom obs ervations j us t prec ed ing or foll owing
th at h alf trip
.
 U . S. COA ST A ND GEO D E T IC S R U VEY PECIAL PU BLICA T ION N O
S . 14 .

g g d up on thi s cl ass of w ork unless th ey are direc ted oth erwi se by sp eci al i nstru cti ons or
en a e ,

u nl ess exc ep ti onal ci rc umst anc es are enc ount ered which m ak e ch ang es nec ess ary or d esi rabl e .

2 T. he H orreb ow—T alc ott m ethod sh ould b e foll ow ed usi ng the z eni th tel esc op e or the ,

meridi an t el esc op e (See p 8 for d escrip ti on of the l at ter i ns trument The z eni th t el esc op e
. . .

is d escrib ed b el ow ) .

3 A p ai r of st ars sh ould b e obs erved only onc e at a gi ven s tati on unl ess s ome gros s error
.
,

is discovered in whi ch c ase the p ai r may b e reob s

,
erved N ot m ore th a n tw o st ars sh ould b e .

obs erved at one s etti ng of the i ns tru ment A s tar may b e obs erved on m ore th an one nigh t.
,

if p ai red wi th a di fferent s tar on each night .

4 A s uffi ci ent numb er of p airs sh ould b e ob served at a st ati on to mak e it reasonably

'

c ert ai n th at the p rob abl e error of the mean result is not g reater th an zt O 1 0 (see d irecti ons
”
.

for p roc ed ure in maki ng the offic e c omp ut ati on) N o ad d i ti onal exp endi ture oftim e or m oney .

sh ould b e mad e in tryi ng to red uc e the p rob abl e error b el ow th i s li mit In no c as e h ow ever .
, ,

sh ould the numb er ofp airs obs erved at a s tati on b e l ess th an 1 0 .

5 N o d et ermi nati on of the microm et er val ue sh ould b e m ad e in the fi eld as this valu e i s
.
,

c omp ut ed at the offic e from the reg ul ar obs ervati ons for l atitud e .

6 T. he p airs obs erved sh ould b e so s el ect ed th at the al gebraic sum ofthe m easu red micro
m et er diff erenc es in t urns at a s tati on is l ess th an the t ot al numb er ofp airs This sumsh ould .

b e mad e sm all in ord er th at the c omp ut ed l atitud e may b e nearly free from any ef
,
f ect oferror
in the meanval ue ofthe micromet er screw .

7 T. he s t ars obs erved u p on sh ould b e t ak en from The Preliminary G eneral Cat al og ue of

6 1 88 Stars for the E p och 1 900 by L ewis Boss which w as pu blish ed by the Carnegi e Institu ti on
”

W hington in 1 91 0
'
,

of as .

8 D up
.lic ates of the l atitud e records in the form of ent ri es in the l atitu d e c ompu t ati on
,

sh eets sh ould b e m ad e and ch eck ed as the w ork p rogress es Only s uch p orti ons ofthe l atitu d e
,
.

c omp ut ati ons sh ould be mad e in the field as are nec ess ary to as cert ain the d egree of accu racy
s ecured .

9 T. he d uplic at es and c omp ut ati ons b oth c ompl ete and inc omplete for each st ati on sh ould
, ,

b e s ent to the offic e by regis t ered mail as s oon as p ractic abl e aft er the c ompl eti on of the occu
,

pation ofthe s t ati on E ach b ook of original rec ords sh ould b e s ent to the offic e by regist ered
.

m ail s oon after the l ast ofthe c orresp onding d uplic at es and c ompu t ations h ave b een f orw ard ed
W
,

bu t not so s oon as to arrive in ashingt on by the s ame m ail I t is d esirab l e to h ave the records .

and c ompu t ations s ent to the offi c e p romp tly in ord er to avoid th eir p ossibl e l oss , .

1 0 O riginal d escrip ti ons of s tati ons sh ould b e ins ert ed in the original rec ord of l atit ud e
.

obs ervati ons and a du plic at e d esc rip ti on of each st ati on sh ould b e w ritt en in a volum e k ep t
esp eci all y for the p urp os e This volu me sh ould b e s ent to the offic e at the cl os e of a s eas on’s
.

w ork .

11 T he f orm of rec ord of obs ervati ons and of fi eld and offic e c omp utations of res ults
.

sh ould c onf orm to th os e sh own in this p ublic ati on .

Th es e G eneral I nstructi ons w ill b e ref erred to f rom time to time in the s ucceeding t ext .

D E SCRI PT I ON OF TH E Z ENI T H T E L E SCO P E .

I ll ustrati on N o 1 3 sh ows one ofthe b es t zeni th tel esc op es now in use in this Survey This
.
.

inst rument Z eni th T el esc op e N o 4 w as originally mad e by Trought on Simms of L ond on

, .
.
, , ,

in 1 849 and w as remod el ed at the Coast and G eod etic Survey O ffic e in 1 89 1
, I t c arri es a .

t el esc op e with a cl ear ap erture of ab out 7 6m and a f oc al l ength of ab ou t 1 1 6 6cm .

(46 inch es ) The magnifying p ow er wi th the ey epi ec e ord inaril y u s ed is 1 0 0 di amet ers
.
Tw o .

l ati tud e l evels are us ed inst ead of one to s ec ure increas ed accuracy E ach of th es e l evels
, .

c arri es a grad uati on which is numb ered c ontinuously from one end to the oth er (inst ead of
each w ay f rom the middl e) th enu mb ering of the upp er one ru nni ng from O to 50 and of the
,

l ow er f rom 60 to 1 1 0 A 2 mm divisi on on the upp er l evel has a value of ab out 1 6 and on the
.
.

l ower ab out l 4 The vertic al axis of the instru ment is in the vertic al pl ane in which the
-

. .

t el esc op e swings The cl amp arm p erf orat ed for the s ak e of light ness gives the t el esc op e a
.
, ,
Z E N I TH T E L E SC O P E .
 U . S. COA ST AN D G EO D E T IC S R U VEY S PECIAL PU B LICA T ION N O . 14
.

and c as e the b ubble readings m us t b e m ad e by an att end ant w ho mus t als o st and in
i n this
one pl ac e with out shif ting his w eight from the time the obs ervati on is mad e until the l evel
is read .

A DJ U ST M E N T S .

Wh n se t ing up the inst rum ent pl ac e tw o of the foot sc rews in an east and w est li ne
et .

The l evel c orrection may th en b e k ept sm all d uring the p rog ress of the observations by using
one f oot sc rew only .

The vertic al axis may b e m ad e app roxim at ely vertic al by use of the pl at e l evel if th ere ,

is one on the inst rum ent and the fi nal adj ust ment mad e by using the l atitud e l evel The
,
.

p osi tion of the h oriz ont al axis may then b e t est ed by readi ngs of the stridi ng l evel I f the .

h oriz ont al axis is found to b e i nclined i t must b e mad e h oriz ont al by u sing the sc rews which
,

ch ange the angl e b etw een the horiz ont al and vertic al ax es if the i nst rum ent is ofthe old f orm
W
.
,

ith the new f orm of i nst rum ent ( il lus trati on N o or with a m eridi an t el esc op e the tw o
.
,

ax es will alw ays rem ai n so nearly at righ t angl es th at no m eans f or m aking this adj ustm ent is
need ed . W
ith th es e inst rum ents the vertic al axi s may b e m ad e vertic al by using b oth the
st ridi ng l evel and the l atit ud e l evel at the s ame ti me .

The ey epi ec e and obj ecti ve sh ould b e c arefully f ocus ed as i ndic at ed on p ag es 1 4 and 1 5 .

I t is i mp ort ant th at the f ocus of the obj ecti ve sh ould b e k ept c onst ant du ring the st ay at a
s tati on s inc e the angul ar val ue of one turn of the eyepi ec e mic rom et er is d ep end ed up on to
,

rem ai n c onst ant f or the st ati on How ever the resul ts of the d et erminati on of the valu e of a
.
,

t urn ofthe mi crom eter vary in s ome c as es as much as O ’

c orresp onding to a rang e ofab ou t
millim eters in the distanc e b etween the obj ecti ve and the mic rom eter li nes (see p .

In c onnecti on with the c ommon h ab it of c arefully keepi ng the d raw tub e cl amp ed for the
p urp os e of h olding the micrometer val u e c onst ant it is i nteresting to not e th at whi le in the
W
,

field in 1 90 5 Assist ant H Burg er focused z enith t elescop e N o 2 five times in rapid su cc essi on
. . .

wi th a range ofonly millim et er in the p ositi on ofthe sliding t ub e .

The m ovabl e mic rom et er th read wi th which all p ointi ngs are to b e m ad e must b e t ruly
h oriz ont al This adj ustm ent may b e m ad e at l east app roxim at ely in d aylight aft er the
.
, ,

oth er adj ustm ents P oint wi th the m ovabl e th read u p on a dist ant w ell—defined ob j ect with
, , ,

the im ag e of th at obj ect near the app arent right h and sid e of the fi eld ofthe ey epi ec e andwi th -

the t el esc op e cl amp ed in z enith dist anc e Shift the im ag e to the app arent l eft h and sid e of
.
-

the fi eld by t urni ng the i nst ru ment ab out its vertic al axis I f the bisection is not Still p erf ect .
,

h alf the c orrection sh ould b e m ad e with the mic rom et er and h alf with the sl ow m oti on sc rews -

which rotat e the wh ol e ey epi ec e and reticl e ab out the axis of figure of the tel esc op e R ep eat .
,

if necess ary The adj ustment sh ould b e c arefully t est ed at night aft er s etting the st ops by
.

t aking a s eri es of p ointi ngs up on a sl ow —m oving st ar as it c ross es the fi eld wi th the t el escop e in
the m er i di an I f the adj ustment is p erfect the m ean readi ng of the mic rom et er b efore the
.
,

st ar reach es the middl e ofthe fi eld sh ould ag ree wi th the m ean readi ng aft er p assing the middl e ,

exc ep t f or the accid ent al errors ofp oi nti ng I t is esp eci ally imp ort ant to m ake this adj ust ment
.

c arefully for the t end ency ofanyi nclinati on is to i nt rod uc e a constant error int o the c omp ut ed
,

val ues ofthe l ati tud e .

The l ine of collimati on (see p 1 3 ) as d efined by the middle vertic al line ofthe reticl e m ust
.

b e very nearly p erp endic ul ar to the h oriz ontal axi s I f the i nst rum ent is a m eridi an t el esc op e
.
,

or ofthe f orm sh ow n in ill ust rati on N o 1 3 this adj us tment mayb e mad e as for a t ransit ( p 1 5)
.
, .

by reversing the h oriz ont al axis in the wyes I f the inst rum ent is of the f orm in which the .

t el esc op e is to one sid e of the vertic al axis the m eth od of m aki ng the test must b e m od ifi ed
,

acc ordingly I t may b e mad e by usi ng tw o c olli mati ng t el escop es which are p oint ed u p on
.

one anoth er in s uch p osi ti ons th at the z eni th t el esc op e may b e p oi nt ed fi rst up on one and th en
up on the oth er wi th no int erm edi at e m oti on exc ept a rot ati on of 1 80 ab out the h oriz ont al °

axis . I t may b e m ad e as for an engi neer s t ransi t b ut using tw o fore and tw o b ack p oi nts
’
, ,

the dist anc e ap art of each p ai r of p oi nts b ei ng mad e d oubl e the dist anc e b etw een the vertic al
axis and the axis ofc ollimati on of the tel esc op e A si ngl e p ai r of p oi nts at th at dis tanc e ap art
.

mayb e us ed and the horizintal ci rcle t rusted to d etermine when the i nst ru ment has b een turned
 N o 1 4.
.

O BSE R VATO R Y .
 U . S . COA ST AN D G E O D E T IC SU R VE Y SP E CIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14.

O bserving list ( F orm

(St . Ann e, IlI ,. J un 25

e , 1 908 . Z ni h t l
e t e esco e p N o 4
. . Searc hf
actor= 2

m
a= nu b erofturns ofthe mi crometerscrew inone mi nute ofarc= 1 . 34 . l
The va ue ofone turn ofthe mcrometerscre i w = 44 . 650 .

The app roxim at e mean right asc ensions d eclinati ons for the obs erving l is t are obt ained and

for the t im e of the obs ervati ons by mul tiplyi ng the annual vari ati on by the numb er of y ears
el aps ed si nc e the ep och of the c at al ogu e and c omb ini ng the p roducts alg eb raic ally with the

m
right asc ensi on and d ecli nati on gi ven in the c at al ogu e used .

In the ab ove f or th ere is no c olum n for z enith dist anc es The s etti ng for a p air is one .

h alf the differenc e b etw een the d ecl inati ons ofthe two s t ars ofa p air To get the valu es in the .

c ol umn N S subtract d oubl e the l atit ud e (for st ati on St A nne 82

—
from the sum of the .
,
°

d eclinations ofthe two s t ars and multiply the resul t in mi nut es of are by the nu mb er of tu rns
ofthe micromet er sc rew in a mi nut e of arc N — S is p ositi ve if the north s t ar has the great er
.

z enith dist anc e and is neg ative if the s outh st ar has the great er z eni th dist anc e The c ent er .

ofthe c omb in the mic romet er ey epi ec e is c all ed 2 0 and i nc rea sing readings on the gradu at ed ,

h ead go with i ncreasing z enith dist anc es Th en the s etti ng of the micromet er wire for any .

N 8 N S
north s t ar is 20 +
5 and for any o t s u h st ar 2 0 Th es e s etti ngs are given in the l as t
c ol umn ofthe ab ove t abl e
W
.

h en one st ar ofthe p air is a subp ol ar the find er c ircl e s etting is 90 52 6 N S in this

°
.
,

c ase is a ( 1 80 — diff erenc e of Bs

° ’
and is p ositi ve or neg ati ve acc ordi ng as the north s t ar
has the great er or l ess er z enith dist anc e The s etti ng of the mi c rom et er w ire will b e gi ven by
.

the s ame g eneral exp ressi on as ab ove .

F or the pu rp os es of the obs erving list it is suffici ently accu rat e to k now the mean right
asc en si ons to withi n one s ec ond and the d ecli nati on s and d eri ved qu antiti es to the neares t

minut e of arc The app roxi mate readi ng of the tu rns is given to f acilit at e id entific ati on of
.

the st ars andto enabl e the obs erver to put the mic rom et er li ne app roxi mat ely in p ositi on b ef ore
the s tar ent ers the fi eld of vi ew The middl e readi ng of the micromet er c omb is c all ed 2 0 to
.

avoid neg ati ve readings .

I f the TenY ear Cat al ogu es for 1 880 and 1 890 andthe N ine Y ear Cat al ogu e for 1 900 by the ,

R oy al O bs ervat ory at Greenwich are us ed th en the f orm of the obs erving list c oul d b e m ad e
, ,

to ad vant age in a m anner s omewh at dif ferent from th at sh own ab ove forin th os e publi c ati ons ,

the north p ol ar dist anc es are gi ven inst ead ofthe d ecl inati ons The list mayb e simil ar to th at .

sh own b el ow wh ere the s ett ings etc are d eri ved from the north p ol ar dist ances of the st ars
, ,
.
, .

In the first c olumn of the e x ampl e are gi ven the B0 ss c at al og ue numb ers th ough the st ars are ,

als o in the lists of the G reenwich c at al ogu es menti oned ab ove They are the Same st ars as .

th os e in the first f orm ofst ar list .

 N o 1 6.
.

O BSE R V I N G T E N T .

No 17
. .

O BSE R V I NG T E N T .
110 U . s . COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC U
S RV EY S E P CIAL PU BLICA T IO N N O . 1 4.

it if any error isd et ec ted Becaus e of m oment ary ch ang es in the refrac ti on the s tar will
.
,

us uall y b e s een to m ove al ong the line wi th an i rreg ul ar m oti on now p artly ab ove it and now ,

p artly b el ow The m ean p osi ti on of the st ar is to be c overed by the l ine

.
1
I t is p ossibl e but .
,

not ad vis abl e to m ake s everal bis ecti ons of the st ar whil e it is p assing across the field
, As .

s oon as the st ar reach es the mi ddl e vertic al line of the di aphragm read off p romptly from the
c omb the wh ol e t urns of the mi cromet er read the l evel and th en the frac ti on of a mi cromet er
, ,

t urn in di visi ons from the mi cromet er h ead Set p romp tly for the next s tar even th ough i t
, ,
.
,

is not exp ect ed s oon In s etting for the s ec ond st ar of a p air all th at is nec ess ary is to reverse
.

the i nst rum ent in azim uth and set the mic rometer l ine to a new p osition The ab utting pi ece .

m ust b e brough t g ently ag ainst the st 0 p and the circl e s ec urely cl amp ed in th at p osition .

E sp eci al c are sh ould b e t aken in h andling the micromet er sc rew as any l ongitudinal f orce ,

appli ed to it p roduc es a fl ex ure of the t el esc op e which t ends to ent er the res ult d irectly as an
error The l as t moti on of the mi crometer h ead in maki ng a bis ecti on sh oul d alw ays b e in one
.

directi on (p referably th at in whi ch the screw acts p osi ti vely ag ainst its O pp osing sp ring ) to i nsure ,

th at any l os t moti on is alw ays t ak en upin one direc ti on The b ubbl e sh ould b e read p romptly .
,

so as to gi ve it as littl e t im e as p ossibl e to ch ang e its p ositi on af ter the bis ecti on The d esired .

reading is th at at which it st ood at the i n st ant of b is ection Avoid c aref ully any h eating of .

the l evel by p utti ng the reading l amp w arm b reath or f ac e any nearer to it th an nec ess ary
, , .

D uri ng the obs ervati on of a p ai r the t angent sc rew of the s etti ng ci rcl e must not b e t ouched ,

for the angl e b etw een the t el esc op e and the l evel must b e k ep t c onst ant I f it is nec ess ary .

to rel evel to k eep the b ubbl e withi n readi ng li mi ts use the tang ent screw w h
,
i ch ch ang es the ,

i ncli nati on ofthe t el esc op e E ven thi s may i ntrod uc e an error due to a ch ange in the fl ex ure
.
,

of the tel esc op e and sh ould b e avoid ed if p ossibl e

,
It is d es irable to rel evel the i nstrument .

from tim e to tim e b etw een p airs so as to keep the level c orrecti on s mall l ess th an one di vi si on
, ,

of the l evel if p ossibl e .

O cc asi onally the approxi mat e ti me sh ould b e not ed at whi ch the st ar b eing obs erved
cross es the middl e vertic al li ne ofthe di aphrag m so as to m ak e s ure th at the adj ustm ent ofthe ,

s t ops in azim uth remai ns s atisf act ory I t is d esirabl e ( th ough not necess ary ) to h ave a
.

rec ord er He should be a man ab ove the average in i nt elligence and should b e abl e to pre
.
,

p are an obs ervi ng li st aft er a lit tl e p rac tice and to assist in c omp uti ng the res ul ts I t is not .

ec onom ic al to tak e a man from pl ac e to pl ac e u nl ess he can assist in the c omp ut ati ons The .

rec ord er may c ount s econds al oud from the f ac e ofthe ch ronom eter in such a w ay as to i ndi c at e
wh en the s tar is to c ulm i nat e Such c ounti ng al oud s erves ad oubl e p urp os e
. It is a w arni ng to .

the obs erver to b e ready and it i ndic at es wh ere to l ook for the st ar if it is f ai nt and d iffic ult to
fi nd I t al s o gi ves for each st ar a rough ch eck up on the p osi ti on of the azi muth steps
. I t is .

on l y a rough ch eck b ec aus e the obs ervi ng list gi ves mean right asc ensi ons i nst ead of app arent
,

right asc ensi ons for the d at e b ut it is s uffici ently accu rat e ( see p
, The obs erver orrec ord er .
, ,

can easily mak e all ow anc e f or the f act th at all s tars ( exc ep t c ircu mp ol are) will app ear to b e too
early or too l at e acc ordi ng to the ob servi ng list by ab out the s ame i nterval 0
, to 5 the diff er
, ,
9 5
,

enc e b etw een the m ean and app arent right asc en si on I f a s tar can not b e obs erved up on the .

middl e li ne on acc ou nt of t emp orary i nt erferenc e by cl ouds or t ardiness in p rep aring for the
,

obs ervati on it may b e obs erved anywh ere wi thi n the s af e limits of the fi eld (oft en i nd
, i c at ed
by vertic al li nes on the di aphrag m) and the chronom et er t im e of obs ervati on rec ord ed In .

p rac tic e a st ar is s eld om obs erved off the m eridi an .

I t is d esirabl e to mak e all s ettings wi th s uch acc uracy th at the m ean ofthe two microm et er
readings on a p air sh all not diff er f rom 2 0 t urns by m ore th an 1 t urn I t is not i nfreq uently
m
.

true th at the val ue of a micromet er screw i ncreas es slightly bu t st eadily fro one end to the
oth er In s uch c as es the c orrecti on to each obs erved val ue of the l atitud e due to this irregu
.
,

larity of the screw will b e i ns ensibl e if the s etti ngs are m ad e wi th the i ndic at ed accu racy but
, ,

not oth erwis e .

Thi wo d ing mu t b
1 s r s e modified to corr
es onp d it, in accor ance d wi th th e cons id ration
e s state d on p 1 41 two c ose l p rall l li n
a e es are d
use
in t ad ofa i ngl l in
. ,

se s e e.
 D E T E R MINA T ION OF LA T I T U D E .

E X AM PL E OF R ECO RD AN D CO M P U T A T I ON S .

Z enith telescope record or lati tude

f .

F orm255 W Bow r ]
i Anne Date J une 25 Ch onom t r 2637 Ob
.

[Stat on, St . .
, ,
1 908
. r ee , . server, e.

Micrometer
Re mark s

Struc k in t um nt
sr e

Meanofd oublestar

Th l m
ese co u ns are on use ly d wh ena staris o serve b d 0 6 the meridian
t Thi i m up to th is pai r ofthe south mi nus the north micrometer turns
.

s is the cont nuous su , ,

.

R eduction, mean to apparent declination with Cape tables ,

.

F o m32
r
[S ti on S A nn t i ngul ti on l a i ud a i on]
3 .

ta , t
. e ra a tt e st t

une 25 1 908 ,

43 2 7

16 17 17 17 18 18

—
+0 . 14 0 08
.

30 7 6 . 29 7 1
. 48 62
.

log g= 0 4981 3 log h= 1 3 1 041 G = 1 38 4

H
. . .

log g0 = 1 30 2 1 6 . log /1 0 1 267 1 7

: .
=1 1 44 6.

9 It
10 8 log 1 9597 log = log 04324 t= +0 585
3 Fo
.

;
1 57 1 05

Make computationb yhorizontal l i nes inthe orderindicated x

F ore planat onofQ 0 ’and 6 Q ’, see pages ( 2 ) and( 5)
. i
of ape tab les
C O pposi te 80 in the six th l i ne place
. i the degrees and mnutes, and oppos te 30 i the seconds of the
mean declination The q uanti ti es x y i and mayb e assumed constant fora ni ght andshould b e takenforanepoch
.
, , , 1 ,

mi dwayb etween the first andlast stars The q uanti ti es G ’and B mayb e assumed constant for peri ods not ex ceeding
.

fourhourseach andshoul db e tak enforthe mi dwayepochofeachsuchperi od U se 0 G H G +a o andH+a o totenths

, .
0, , , , ,

ofminutes oftime; as y and r to three signifi

, ,
cant fi anti ti es to two decim
gures; and all other q u al places .
 U . S. COA ST AN D G E O D E TIC SU R VEY PECIAL P U B ]
S

F o m33
r .

Catal ogu e Micrometer

Star N O . di g
R ea n D in . Z D
. .

11 69 0 .

+1 5 65 4 .

27 34 4 .

9 61 0 .

— 21 86 0 .

31 47 0 .

8 22 2 .

16 66 0 .

19 62 5 .

o0
t
n A
‘

e0 .
 U COA ST AND GEO D E T IC VEY PECIA L P U BLICA T ION N O
S 14
'

. S. SU R . .

Summ flatitude computati on

a ryo .

Ist. Anne 1 11 J une 25

, , ,

StarN o
lg
.

Bosscata o ue

A l geb rai c sum

2265 and 301 9 are ten ear1 880 -

y b
num ers: The mean d linati on
ec sf h
or t ese stars w r b tain d from
eeO e sev a sou
er l
rces.

t 0 . 25

The val ue of one—h alf t urn O f the micrometer as us ed in the field= 2 2 . 32 5 .

Mean gb 8 p ai rs wi th pl us micromet er diff erence 4 1 0 1

.

= ’ °

Man
,

ep airs with minus mi crom t

7 01 20 1 2 e er d
’
i fl erence = 4 1 ° ’
. .

The mean of7 p ai rs wi th minus mi cromet er diff erenc es minus the mean O f 8 p ai rs wi th p lus
mi c rometer differenc es ’
0 21 . .

Ob servat i on qu tion
e a s

c 8 3r1
.

c+l 4 . 3r1 +0 .

1 4 1 r1
l

—
c .

c+ 9 1 r1 — 0
. .

c— 1 3 8r1
.

c -
1 6 3r, +0 08= O
. .

cv 2 3r, +0
. .

c— 1 5 . 7 r1 — 0 . C orrected value of one hal f turn of -

micrometer screw
c+2 1 9r1 +0 . . 3 1 1 3 i 0” 0046 .

0+ 8 2r, +0 . .

c+

c 2 87 3 — 0 . .

0 4 1 6 47 3 — 0
-
. .

c+1 6 1 7 3 4 0 1 7 = O
.
-
.

’
L atit ud e O f St Anne l atit ud e st ati on . 41
°
01 20 . 24 i 0 . 06
d ucti on to sea l evel el evati on O f st ati on 2 06 met ers
R e , ,

R ed ucti on to mean p osi ti on ofp ol e 1

L atitud e of St Anne l atit ud e s tati on red uc ed to sea l evel and
.
,

the mean p osi ti on of the p ol e

° ’
41 01 20 . 2 8$ 0 . 06
F or an expl anati on O f the ab ove ad j us tment see p ag e 1 3 0 .

1 See A strono mi sche NachrichtenN o 441 4 . .

 D E TE R M INA T ION OF L A T I T UDE .

G E N E RAL NO T E S O N C O M P U T A T I ON S O F L A T I T U D E IN T HE U N I T E D ST A T E S C O A ST AN D
G E O D E T IC SUR V E Y .

The res ult fromeach p ai r ofst ars is gi veneq ual w eight This is d one up on the s upp ositi on .

th at the th eoretic al w eigh ts are so nearly equ al th at if th ey w ere us ed the final val ue for the, ,

l atitud e of a st ati on w ould s eld om b e ch ang ed by m ore th an

A firs t rej ec ti on li mi t of from the m ean val ue of the l atitud e is us ed Aft er the _
.

3 0 0 rej ecti on limi t has b een appli ed the p rob abl e error of a res ul t f rom a si ngl e p ai r ep is
.
, ,

c omp ut ed from all the remaini ng valu es and th en 5c, is us ed as an abs ol ut e rej ecti on li mi t
, , ,

and 3 5ep is us ed as a d oubtf ul li m

. i t b ey ond whi ch rej ecti on is to b e m ad e if s trong evi d enc e in
favor ofrej ecti on is found oth er th an the resid ual i ts elf Such evi d enc e may c onsist O f p ositi ve.

not es indi c ati ng b ad c ondi ti ons d uri ng the O bs ervati on of the p articul ar p ai r c onc erned con ,

trad i ctions in the rec ord i ndi c ating a p rob abl e mis reading or a m ean d eclinati on of a s t ar wi th ,

a p rob abl e error so l ar e th at i t might acc ount for the l arg e resid ual
g
.

A new val ue O f one h al f t urn of the microm et er is to b e d er

-
i ved f rom the l atit ud e O bs erva
ti ons only in th os e c as es in which the m eanl atit ud e from p ai rs wi th pl us mi cromet er di ff er
ences diff ers by more th an from the mean l ati tud e from p ai rs wi th minus mi crom et er
di ff erenc es It is b eli eved th at wh en the ag reement is wi thin 0 2 0 a new valu e of one h alf
.
,
.
,
-

tu rn if d eri ved from the obs ervati ons w ould diff er from the O ld by l ess th an
, , and the
final l atit ud e w ould ordinari ly b e ch ang ed by l ess th a n It is als o b eli eved th at the d eri ved
c orrecti on to the O ld valu e w ould in th es e c as es b e b ut littl e if any l arg er th ani ts own p rob abl e
, , , ,

error .

The formul ae us ed in comp uting p rob abl e errors if the ,

a c orrecti on to the mi c rom et er valu e
is d eri ved from the l atitud e obs ervati ons are: ,

= rob ab l rror of r =
e,
l p e e 1

The c orrec ti on for el evati on to re duc e the mean l atitud e to sea l evel is alw ays app li ed .

( See p .

The red uc ti on to a t ri ang ul ati on s t ati on or to oth er p oints is als o appli ed on the l atitu d e
m
h c
sr
ew c omp ut ati on and the rel ati on of the l atit ud e st ati on to s uch p oint or p oints is th ere i ndic ated .

U nl esst he l atit ud e st ati on is wi thin a few met ers of the t ri ang ul ati on st ati on and due eas t or
w es t of it the l atit ud e c omput ati on sh ould sh ow the l atitud e of b oth the l atit ud e st ati on and
,

the tri ang ul ati on st ati on .

EX PL ANA T I ON O F C OM P U T A T I O N .

L et C and 5 equ al the t ru e meridi onal z enith dist anc es O f t

’
he s outh ern and north ern st ars ,
and 5 and 5 the app arent d ecl inati ons of the s ame, resp ecti vely ; th en the exp ressi on for the
’

l atitud e is
’
<P = Vz / z (C
1 —
C)
N ow , if d enot e the obs erved z en
z, 2
’
ith dist anc es of the s outh and the north s t ars ; n s the ,

or the s outh s tar and n s the s ame for the n

’ ’
north and the s ou th readi ngs of the l evel f orth , ,

d the val u e ofone di vision of l evel ; r and r the refracti on c orrecti ons and m and m the
’ ’
st ar;
 U . S. COA ST AN D G E ODE T IC U VE Y
S R S PECIAL PU BLICA TION NO . 14.

red uctions of the measu red z eni th dist ances to the m eridi an for the s outh and the north s tars ,

resp ecti vely th en ,

’
— z’
% (z ) % (r —
r )

and if Mand M b microm eterreadings ofthe s outh and thenorth st ars i ncreas ed microm
’
e the ,

eter readi ngs c orresp ond ing to inc reas ed z eni th dist anc es andR the val ue O f one tu rn th en , ,

}
( z— z
'
) (M Ma;
The d et ails c omp ut ati on of the s econd and thi rd t erms in the ab ove formul a
of the are
suffici ently i ndic at ed in the comp ut ation shown ab ove The first f ourth and fifth t erms .
, ,
are

expl ai ned more f ully on the f oll owi ng p ag es ( 1 1 7

T enths of divisions of the micromet er h ead are us uall y es ti mat ed .

COM P U T A T I ON OF A PP A RE N T PL A CE S .

The d at a givenin the Boss p reli mi nary g eneral c at al og ue of st ars for 1 900 in reg ard to a
s tar from which its app arent pl ac e at the tim e O f O bs ervation is to b e c omp ut ed are the m ean
, ,

right asc ensi on and d eclinati on a m and 6m f or the y ear 1 90 0 tm; the annual vari ationin right
, ,

dd
asc ensi on i 9 ; the an
C
g
nual vari at i on 1 11 d ecl i nat i on 9 ( the annual p rec ess i on and p rop er
7 2
-

, ,
c
motion t ogeth er c onstitu te the annual vari ation) ; and the s ecul ar vari ati on of the p rec essi on
nd clin
i e at on, i gi ven for 1 00 years which by moving the d eci mal p oi nt b ecom es
, , ,
d2 m
dz f . Th ere
are al s ogi ven the p rop er moti on in d eclinati on p ; the mean ep och E ; the p rob abl e error of ,
'
.

“
m e p rob abl e error O f 1 00 y ; and the p rob abl e
’
a h
the d ecli nation t t e m n p och
ea e e t h
error of the d ecli nation for 1 9 1 0 ed The p rob abl e error oft he d ecli nati on for any d at e T is
,
.
, ,

The red ucti on to the app arent pl ac e at O bs ervati on is mad e in tw o st eps ; firs t the gi ven ,

mean pl ac e is red uc ed to the mean pl ac e at the b eginning ofthe y ear ofO b servation and upon ,

th at as a b asis the app arent pl ac e compu t ati on is th en mad e .

L et the meanright asc ensi on an d d eclinati on at the b eginning O f the y

ear ofO bs ervati on b e
c all ed ar and5 e 0

“
Th en
m (to tm)

%
m
a
o
=am (to tm) (to tm)2

The B oss c at alogu e sh ows th at for the s tar 43 2 7 , 1 6h 5 6m with an

d m
annu al vari at i on Also dm= d = 82 ° 12
’
07 . 66 . The ann a u l vari ati on,

P d 8m
2

0 0 880 the proper mot1 0 n, ,a

(
5 1 0 the s ecul ar vari ati O n
E
— 5
00 1 , the
_
_

dt dtz .

mean epoch , E , an d the p rob abl e error, eag p = the ro a e error of l O O p

p b bl ’
”
i 0 1 3 , and the p rob abl e error of the d ecli nati on for 1 9 1 0 = $ 0
.
05 . .

1 The conectionfor i nclinati on as here gi ven is for a l evel whi h th grad uati on i
of c e s nu mbered in bo h dir ion fom th middl
t ect s r e e. I f the
grad uationi s nu mbered continuously fromone end to the oh wi th numb i n r i ng
t er ers c eas toward the obj ec ti v h l v l orr ti on i
e, t e e e c ec s

d
— s
)
}
C p hi wi h th i mil formul a fo
( om are t s t es ar r a str iding l v l on pag
e e e It the nu mb ering on the level graduation increases towardthe eyepiece thi s
f l b
ormua ecomes
d

{( n— n )
'

2
 U . S. COA ST AN D G EODE TIC . U VEY
S R PECIAL PU B LICA T ION NO
S . 14 .

and sinc e the h alf d ifference ofz enith dist anc es as m eas ured by the micromet er is the qu anti ty
, ,

appli ed in the c omp ut ati on the f oll owing t abl e of c orrecti ons to the l atitud e for d iff erenti al
,

refraction has b een p rep ared with the argu ment one h alf diff erenc e of z enith d -
i s t anc e at the
sid e andthe argu ment z enith dist anc e at the top
,
.

I f the st ation is so far ab ove sea l evel th at the m ean b aromet ric pressu re at the st ation is
l ess th an 9 0 per c ent of the mean b arometric p ress ure at sea l evel ( 7 60 ) it may b e d esirabl e
m m

to t ak e this f act int o acc ount by diminis hing the Val ues gi ven in the f oll owing t abl e ( c ompu t ed
for sea l evel ) to c orresp ond to the red uc ed p ressure Th at is if the mean p ressure is 1 0 per
.
,

c ent l ess th an at sea l evel diminish each value t aken from the t abl e by 1 0 per c ent ofitself if 2 0 ,

per c ent less diminish t abul ar val ues by 2 0 per c ent andso on This need only b e d one roughly
,
.
,

since the t ab ul ar val ues are small .

Correction to latitude for difierential f

re raction=
'

(r
ig i
[The s nofthe correct onis the same as t hat ofth mi e meterdiff erence ]
cro

Z ni th di tan
e s ce
 DE TE R MINA T ION OF LA T I T U D E .

R E DUC T I O N TO T H E M E RI DI AN .

I f a st ar is observed offthe meridi an whil e the line ofc olli mation ofthe t el e
s c op e remains in
‘

the m eridi an the m easured z eni th dist anc e is in error on account of the curvature of the
, .

app arent p ath of the st ar L et m b e the c orrec ti on to red uc e the meas ured z eni th dist anc e to
'

wh at it w ould h ave b een if the s tar had b een obs erved up on the m eridi an .

Th en ,

in
m= sm4
s
2 1 r
, S11 1 23
l

in which 1 is the h our angl e -

of the s t ar . The signs are s uch th at the correction to the lati tude
= fi) is alw ays Plus for the st ars of Positive d ecl inati on and minus for st ars ofneg ati ve d eoli
2
nati on ( b el ow the quat or)
e , regardless o whether th
f e star i s to th
e northwardor to the southwardof

3
7 7
the zenith .
3 — is th en alw ays appli ed as a c orrecti on to the latitude w ith the sign ofthe
, , ,
2 ‘

righ t -
h and m emb er of the ab ove equ ation F or a s ubp ol ar 1 80 — 5 must b e substit ut ed for 3
.
°
,

m aki ng the c orrecti onnegati ve in t his c as e j ust as for st ars ofs outh ern d eclination The foll ow .

ing t abl e gi ves the c orrec ti ons to the l atitud e c omp ut ed f rom the ab ove formul a I f b oth st ars .

ofa p ai r are obs erved of f the meridi an two such c orrecti ons must b e appli ed to the c omp ut ed
,

l atitu d e.

Correction to lati tudefor reducti on to meridian .

[Starof! the mer idi anb ut in t um nt in th

sr e e meridi an. ig
The s nofthe correct on to the i l ti tud
a e is po i ti v x p t fo
s e e ce s sout
r star h ofth q uator
ee
and sub polars ]

The c at al ogu es il bl e c ont ain so many st ars which may b e obs erved for l atit ud e
now ava a
that it is not d esi rabl e to m ove the inst ru ment out of the meridi an to obs erve a st ar which is
missed as it c ross es the meridi an .

COM B INA T I ON OF RE SU LT S E ACH P A I R O B SE R V E D M O RE T HA N ONCE

, .

Sep arat e val ues of the l atitu d e b ei ng c omp ut ed f rom each obs ervati on up on each p ai r,
it remains to c ombine th es e in su ch a w ay as to obt ain the most p rob abl e value ofthe l atitu d e
and to obt ain c ert ain p rob abl e errors .
 U . S
. COA ST AND G EO D E T IC U
S RV EY SP ECIA L PU BLICA T ION N O . 14 .

L et p b e the t ot al nu mb er of p ai rs obs erved L et the numb er of obs ervati ons u p on p ai r

.

N o 1 b e nl , up on p ai r N o 2 , n, , and so on, andlet the t ot al numb er ofobs ervati ons at the sta
. .

tion b e no = n1 + nz + n3 L et A b e a residu al obt ained by subt ract ing the res ult f rom
a singl e obs ervation on a c ert ain p ai r f rom the mean res ult f romall the observation s up on th at

p ai r L et 6 b e the p rob abl e error of a singl e obs ervation of the l at itu d e, excluding the er
. ror
arising f rom d efecti ve ad opt ed d ecl inati ons .

The vari ous valu es ofA d ep end up on andare a m easu re ofthe p rob abl e error ofobs ervati on,
b ut are ind ep end ent of the error s of the ad opt ed d eclinations . A cc ording to the p rincipl es of
l east squares ,

L et b e the m ean l ati tud e f rom obs ervati ons on p ai r N o 1 , Q f rom p ai r N o 2 , and so on
Q . . .

Let 1) b e the resid ual obt ained by s ubt ract in g Q , Q in t urn f rom the indisc riminat e
m ean for the st ation of Q , Q , Q , Th ere will b e 1) s uch residu als , and they are a m eas
ure of the p rob abl e error of the mean resul t f rom a p ai r which will b e c alled ,
e ,
p arising from
b oth errors ofobs ervation and errors ofd eclination .

L et m
e ,
e 2
p b e the
p rob abl e errors resp ectively , , of Q , Q , Q
b e the p rob abl e error ofthe m ean of tw o d eclinations Th en .

I
I

vari ous val u es m

"
d iffer f rom each oth er b ec aus e of the various
z z
Th s e e
pl e ,
e ,

valu es of n, nz even th ough e and e2 are assum ed to b e c onst ant and the val ue
, ,
?
d eri ved ab ove fore”, is th ei r m ean value Add ing th es e variou
,

s equ ati ons 1) in numb er and

.
, ,

t ak ing the m ean memb er by memb er th ere is ob tained

, ,

P l acing

to abb revi at e the not ati on, and sol ving for efl th ere is obt a
ined
g

e a
? 1,

Havingd et ermi ned the val ues of ea and e2 the p rop er rel ative w eigh ts
? , ,
w w, , i nversely
p rop ortional to the sq uares of th ei r p rob abl e errors may now b e assig ned to Q
“
, , Q ,

An exc ep ti on to the ab ove w eights aris es wh en tw o or more north st ars are obs erved at
one s etti ng of the t el esc op e in c onnecti on wi th the s ame s outh s t ar, or vi ce versa andthe com
,

p ut ati on is mad e as if tw o or more i nd ep end ent p airs had b een obs erved The results of the .

c omp onent p airs in s uch a c ombi nation are not i nd ep end ent, sinc e th ey i nvol ve in c ommon the
U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC S R U VEY PECIAL PU BLICA T ION N O
S . 14
.

i 0 . 20

xpl an tionofth
F ore a f
ese our w igh t
e s, see p . 1 23 .
 DE T E R M INA T ION OF LA T I T UDE .

e.
,

L ati tud e 3 8 55 0 8 8 1
= ° '
n . 06 .

’
In c omp uti ng the val ues fi rst d ropp ed f rom each val ue ofo
S
°
ofq , 3 8 55 08 . 0 0 w as .

An i nd ep end ent d et ermi nati on of e may b e obt ai ned f rom the p rob abl e errors of the
?
m ean d ecli nations of the st ars obs erved as gi ven in the B oss c at al og ue
,
.

F or the st ars obs erved at a st ation the m ean value of the p rob abl e error of the m ean of
tw o d ec linati ons is

in which N 8 is the t ot al numb er of st ars obs erved .

F or a p artic ul ar p ai r

in which only the tw o st ars ofthe p ai r are i ncl ud ed in the summati on in the nu m erat or . F rom
this formul a and from th at given on p age 1 2 0 ( viz ezf= e2 p— e2 ) tw o s ep arat e , g valu es for e g for
“
each p ai r may b e c ompu t ed Which should b e us ed in the f ormul a
.

fix ing the w e ight to b e assigned to the m ean res ul t f rom a p ai r? Th ere are tw o obj ections to
the rigid use in al l c as es of the s ec ond val ue ( f rom the l ati tud e c omp ut ati on) Th at valu e is .

a m ean f or all the p ai rs of a list and in usi ng it the f act th at s om e d eclinati ons h ave very much
l arg er p rob ab le errors th an oth ers in the s am e list is i gnored M
,

oreover in p ractic e the f orm ul a .

, ,

e = e p — s is s om et im es found to gi ve a va l u e for e which is so sm all as to b e evid ently erro

2 2 2

g ?
neons and s om et im es ezrza is even negative which is an abs urdity O n the oth er h and wh en
"
.
, , ,

ever the val ue is sm al l er th an e ? = e2 -

e
2
and th at is usually the c as e it indic at es ,
a

th at th ere is in the obs ervati ons s om e error p eculi ar to each st ar whi ch c ombines wi th the
W
,

d ecl inati on error and so app arently i nc reas es it

,
h en such errors exist the w eights sh ould
.
,

b e c orresp ondingly redu c ed and th erefore the val ues of

, e
z
sh ould b e us ed in the -

Weighting .

The following m ethod of weighti ng th erefore s eems to b e the b est for use in the office
, ,

compu t ati on . Inthe weightformula (see p age usefor eachpair the larger
Se?
f the two available values o f er
g, namely , e r= and By so d oing all the dis
2
o §
— ez .
4
ad vant ages ofeach ofthe tw o
“
m eth ods disc uss ed in the p rec eding p aragraph are avoid ed To
find quickly which ofthe valu es of e ? f rom the m ean pl ac e c omp ut ation are great er th an e2g =
.

e one m fi st n t n h list f m n pl c s f wh t st s xc ds ( p ) O nly

z 2 z z
e ,,
-
ay r o e o t e o ea a e or a ar e
z
e ee 2 e e
,
-
.

p ai rs i nvol ving such st ars need b e ex ami ned furth er To ill ust rat e ofthe p ai rs i nvol ved in the .
,

l atit ud e c omp ut ation sh ownon p age 1 2 2 th ere w ere only fou r for w hi ch the m ean pl ace com
,

put ation g ave val ues of ezg exc eeding The st ars i nvol ved in th es e four p ai rs w ere 452 6 ,

4550 455 5, ,
50 2 6 ,
and the c orresp ondi ng valu es of ez w ere ,

f ez,
The w eights assigned to th es e four p ai rs th erefore d ep end up on ezig=
4
in each c as e .
 U . S
. COA ST AN D G E O D E T IC SU R VEY S P ECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

COM B INA T I ON RE SU LT S WH EN E A CH P A I R O B SE R V E D B U T
Q

OF IS O N CE .

I t is
p res ent p ractic e of this Su rvey to obs erve a p air of s tars only once at a s tati on
the

“
,

andin the fina l c omp utati ons the result ing l atitud e from each p air obs erved is given unit weight .

( See the firs t p aragraph u nd er the h eading G eneral N ot es on Comp ut ati ons of L atitud e in
the U S C oast and G eod etic Su rvey on p
W
. . .

h enever the pl an ofobs erving each p air b ut onc e at a st ati on is c arri ed out the m eth od of
c ombining results and c omp uti ng p rob abl e errors outlined in the p rec edi ng p ag es f ails and for ,

it must b e s ubstit ut ed the f oll ow ing p roc ed ure for which li ttl e ad di ti onal expl anati on is need ed :
,

in which is the p rob abl

e, e error of the res ul t from a p air incl ud ing b oth the error ofobs ervati on
, ,

and the d ecl inati on errors v is the residu al ob tained by s ubst rac ting the l ati tud e f rom a si ngl e
,

p air from the indiscrim inat e mean of all the p airs and p is the numb er of p airs In the fi eld ,
.

c ompu t ati on and als o in the fi nal c ompu t ati on thi s i ndisc riminate m ean is c onsid ered to b e the
fi nal val ue of the l ati tud e I ts p rob abl e error is .

.
N o val ue ofthe p rob abl e error ofobs ervationnot involving the d eclinati on error is avail abl e
from such a fi eld c omput ation B u t the c ompu ted valu es of e,, and . gi ve s uffici ently g ood
i ndic ati ons of the acc uracy of the obs ervations to enabl e the obs erver to d ecid e in the fi eld
wh eth er the i nstrument is in good c onditi on and wh eth er m ore observations are need ed and
th at is all th at is nec ess ary (See p . .

If d es ired the offic e c ompu t ati on mayb e c arri ed f urth er as the p

,
rob abl e error ofthe d eclina
tion ofa st ar e* mayb e obt ained from the c at al ogu e .

The p rob abl e error ofa s ingl e obs ervati on is given by the f ormul a e
2 =e 2
Z a
e .
in whi ch
,, ’
2 N e,
N, is the t ot al nu mb er ofs tars obs erved .

I f w eights w ere given each p air (not the pres ent p ractic e in this Survey) ,
the w eight to b e
assig ned to a p air w ould b e
’
w (e i ?
) 1
-

, t e

in which for each p ai r e2 = the s ummation c overi ng the tw o t s

s ar of th at p air only .

¥ 4

DE T E RMINA T I ON OF L E V E L AN D M ICROM E T E R V A L U E S .

F or m eth ods of d et ermining the l evel val ue see p age 46 .

Until rec ently the meth od most frequ ently us ed in this Su rvey for d et ermining the microm
et er v lu e is
a as f ll ws
o o :
1 “
T e time is obs erved th at is req uired for a cl os e circump ol ar st ar,
h
near el ong ati on, to p ass over the angul ar int erval m eas ured by the screw N ear el ong ati on the .
.

app arent m oti on of the st ar is nearly vertic a l and nearly u niform Th at ne of the f ou r cl os e .
o
circu mpolars given in the E ph em eris , Ceph ei may b e
namely , a, 5, and 11 Urs a
e Minoris and 5 1 ,

s el ect ed which reach es el ong ati on at the most c onveni ent h our Ins electing the st ar it may b e .

ass umed with suffici ent accuracy th at the el ong ati ons occ ur wh en the h our angl e is six h ou rs -

on ei th er sid e of the meridi an In pl anning the obs ervati ons and in m aking the c ompu t ati on
.

it is nec ess ary to know the tim e of el ong ation more acc urat ely and it may b e c omp ut ed from ,

the f orm ul a
cos tE cot 5 tan(15

1 See A pp ndix N o 3 , U n te i d States Co

ast and G od ti c Surv y R po t for 1 900 f full di i
scuss on of the d mi nati on of mi crometer
l
e . e e e , e r or a eter
,
va no .
 U . S
. COA ST AN D G E O D E T IC S R U VE Y S E P CIAL PU BLI CA T ION N O . 14
.

Computation of value of micrometer .

i
Stat on N w Naval Observatory Washi ngton D C Ob erver O B F Star B A C 821 3 E E D ate J une 1 8 1 897 I nstrument Z enith
l p
e , , . . s , . . .
, . . . . . , , .
,
te esco e, N o .

A ss umed value ofR , 5 2 5 .

2 480 r1 + 82 0 3
r1
R, r1
log (R , + r, )
log 1 5
log cos 5

1 65 0 1 00 8
44 . 67 9
Corr . for ref racti on 0 . 03 0

tu rn
O ne 44 649 .

F or ex pl anati on ofnot ati on ,

see pag e 1 2 8 .
 DE T E R MI NA T ION OF LA T I T U D E .

Bec aus e ofthe c urvatu re ofthe app arent p ath ofthe st ar its rat e ofch ang e ofz enith dist ance
is not c onst ant even near el ong ati on The rat e of ch ang e at elongati on may readil y b e com
,
.

puted I t is at th at inst ant in s ec onds of are 1 5 cos 3 per s ec ond of sid ereal time The tabl e
. .

of c urvature c orrecti ons gi ven b el ow enabl es one to c orrect the obs erved tim es to wh at th ey
w oul d h ave b een if in the pl ac e of the act ual st ar th ere w ere substitut ed an id eal st ar wh os e
motion w as vertic al at a c onst ant rate 1 5 cos 3 and which c oi ncid ed wi th the act ual st ar at
the inst ant of el ong ation .

Correctionfor curvature ofapparent path ofstar ,

i n computati on ofmi crometer value .

ibl d
[The correct on ta uate ls (, ( 1 5 sin
I
“W
z
1
)
( 1 5 sin 15 in whi h i th tim f om l ongati on A pply th orr tion gi v n in th
c t s e e r e . e c ec s e e

ta bl e to the ob v d h onom
ser e c r eter ti mes , ddi ng th m b fo i h
a e e r
e e t er e l ongation nd ubtra ting th m ft i h longati on)
, a s c e a ere t er e .

comput ation the fifth c ol umn sh ows the val ues of r and the s eventh col um n the
In the ,

resulting c urvatu re c orrecti ons

W
.

h en the reading of the l evel ch ang es it indic at es up on the usu al assumpti on th at the , ,

rel ati on b etw een the l evel vi al and the t el esc op e remai ns c onst ant th at the i ncli nati on of the ,

t el esc op e has ch anged The eff ect of the movem ent of the t el esc op e may b e elimi nat ed in the
.

c omp ut ationby applyi ng to each obs erved time the c orrecti on in s econds oftim e ,

it w ould h ave b een if the readi ngs ofthe north and s outh end ofthe bubbl e
to red uc e it to wh at
’ ’
had b een n and s resp ectively ,
.

If as in the p res ent c as e the l evel grad uati on is numb ered c onti nu ously f rom one end to
, ,

the oth er wi th the numb ers i nc reasi ng t ow ard the eye 0 nd i nst ead of b ei ng numb ered in b oth ,

directi ons from the mi ddl e the req uired c orrecti on b ec omes ,

d
j:

In each ofth es e f ormul a e the plus sig n is to b e us ed f or w est ern el ong at ion and the mi nus
sig n for eas t ern el ong ati on I t is convenient to t ak e for the assum ed n and s the actu al
.
’ ’

readings at s ome one moment d uri ng the set of obs ervati ons .

Z enith t el esc op e N o 4 had tw o l atitud e l evels , and the c orrection w as c ompu t ed by t ak ing
.

the mean of the tw o and using the mean val ue of d The sixth c ol umn sh ows the
’
(n+ s) and the eighth
'
m ean valu es of ( n + s ) c ol um n the res ul ting c orrecti ons ,
the f act or

m
d
b ei ng 0 87. .

3
L b e an assu med app roximat e val ue of one tu rn in tim e and let r1 b e a required cor
et R I

rec ti on to R 1 L et TO b e an app rox im at e

. val ue of the ch ronomet er ti me of transit of the st ar
ac ross the micromet er line set at 2 0 t urns ( the middl e of the screw ) andto a required c orrecti on
to T o Th en, up on the ass ump ti on th at the screw has a unif orm val ue th rough out the p art
.
 U . S. COA ST AND G EO D E T IC S R U VEY S PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

obs erved up onandth at the s tarmoves inthe d irec ti onofi ncreasi ng read ings ( w est ernel ong ati on) ,

for each obs erved tim e an obs ervation equ ation may b e writt en ofthe f orm

— R oi

in which t is the obs erved ti me of t ransit ac ross the l ine set at the read ing B, aft er c orrecti on
for c urvat ure and l evel Af ter t ransp ositi on this may b e w ri tt en
.

(2 0 —
R 0 )r,
in which
A T [t (2 0
,
R 0 )R , ]
wh enc e the normal eq uations b ec ome
— R 0 ) 2 r, -
R O )A

— R 0) “ EA .

If s ymmetric al ab out 2 0 2 (2 0 — R 0 ) b ec omes z ero If m ore

the t urns obs erved up on are ,
.
,

over as in the num eric al c as e h ere sh ow n T

, O is p urp osely t ak en eq ual to the m ean val ue of ,

t+ ( 2 0 2 A is z ero and to d eri ved f rom the s ec ond norm al eq uati on is nec ess aril y z ero .

Al s o the first normal eq uati on red uc es to the w orking f orm

ado— R oyr, = 2 ( 2 0 — R 0 )A

I f the st ar is obs erved

st ernel ong ationit m oves in the d irection indic at ed by decreasing
at ea
micromet er readings and through out the p rec eding f ormul ae R 0 — 2 0 must b e sub stit ut ed for
20 R0

“m
.

Inthe c omp ut ati onf ormp rint ed ab ove, the val ues oft + (R 0 2 0 ) R ; are sh owninthe c ol u mn
h eaded Ti e at 2 0 turns R I b eing assu med = TO w as ass umed = 1 7 h 2 8m the mean
”
,

for this c ol umn and the A s writt en acc ord ingl y

’
.
,

The eq uati on 2 ( R 0 — 2 0 ) 2r1 Z (R o 2 0 )A red uces numericallyto 2 480 r1 1 =

’
A is the residu al obt ai ned by s ubsti tut ing the d erived val ue r1 in each obs ervati on eq uati on ,
’
or A = A— (R 0
Theremaind er ofthe c omp ut ati onneeds no expl anati onexcep t th at the c orrecti onforretrae
ti on to b e applied to the val ue of one t urn is the ch ange of refracti on for a ch ange of z enith
dist ance eq u al to one turn or in the m ost c onveni ent f orm for use it is the val ue ofone t urn in
, ,

mi nutes of arc ti mes the differenc e of refracti on for 1 at the altitu d e at whi ch the st ar was
’

obs erved ( app rox i mat ely The diff erenc e of refracti on for 1 mayb e ob tai ned from any '

t abl e of mean refracti ons wi th s uffici ent acc uracy The c orrecti on for refracti on is alw ays .

neg ati ve s inc e the ch ang e ofrefracti onis alw ays s uch as to make a st ar app ear to move sl ow er
,

th an it really d oes .

It will s ometi mes b e nec ess ary to apply a c orrecti onfor rat e This c orrecti on to b e appli ed .
,

to the c omp ut ed val ue of one t urn is in s ec ond s of are ,

86400

The c orrecti on is neg ative if the ch ronometer runs too f ast .

The micromet er val ue is s ometi mes d et ermined by t urning the mi cromet er b ox 90 and °

observing up on a cl os e circ ump ol ar near c ulmi nation Th ere are tw o s eri ous obj ecti ons to this .

In thi
1 omp ut ti on it b com n
sc a ary to fi nd th umofth
e es i
ecess +1 5 I i onv ni n f
e s o thi p u p o to e ser es 2.
t sc e e t r s r se
23 I?
u th o mul
se e f r a +
3 +5 4
75 O onally m l t qu
‘
zZ - om p u on it b om n ary o omp u th umofa
1:
. ccasi eas s are c tati s ec es ecess t c te e s

mla offourth pow O n may th n u th fo mu To ob ta n h umof h i x6 1 4 1° 2

Si i r seri es ers. l a 1 + 2 +3 +
e + = + 4
e se e r 4 4 4 4f zi i t es t e seres
3 5 7,
i) + r pply th fo mul to h
‘ ' i a l + 2 +3 + 4e r
+( ) nd di vid by 256=
a =4t S S m
t e seres mlung v nF o mlnd
i 4 4 4 4r 4 a e a
in n nd ng w nd n Math m i kvonD WL d k p 88( B um hw ig 888
, ee o r t er
re e a a e a te e at r. . s a, . ra c e ,
1
 U S COA ST A N D GEO D E T IC U VEY
S R P CIAL PU BLICA T ION N O
S E 14

"
. . . .

is t o o4 of the m ean of tw o d ecli nati ons is 1 0

.
,
1 6 (see p 1 3 3 ) and of the l atit ud e as . .

d eri ved from ind ep end ent p airs is i 0 1 0 the p rob abl e error of the micromet er val ue as
”
.
, ,

d et ermi ned from a single observation up on a p air h aving a d iff erence of z enith dist anc e of ten
tu rns w ould b e
. 05 .

Th ere littl e d oubt th eref ore th at the m ean mic rom et er val u e d et ermined from
can be , ,

all the l atit ud e obs ervati ons at a st ati on is m ore acc urat e th an t hat d et ermi ned f rom even
th ree or f our s ets of c irc ump ol ar obs ervations each requ iring an h our or more of ti me

“
.

I t has b een u rg ed th at to d et ermine an i nst ru ment al c onst ant f rom the obs ervations in
the c omput ation of which it is to b e us ed is a qu est onabl e p r c ed ure; th at it
i o s mooths out ”

the res ul ts but p rob ably d oes not gi ve real acc uracy
,
The f orc e of this obj ecti on disapp ears
.

w h en one c ontras ts the p rop os ed p ractic e of d eri ving a single i nst rum ent al c onst ant from oh
servations on tw el ve or m ore p airs with the usu a l and unq uesti oned p ractic e in transit tim e
c omp ut ati ons of d erivi ng three instrument al const ants ( tw o azimuth and one c olli mati on con
st ant ) from only ten to twelve observati ons on as many st ars .

I t sh oul d b e not ed th at the form of the c omput ati on of circu mp ol ar micromet er cheer
vations given on p age 1 26 is esp eciall y ad apted to the d et ec tion of irreg ul ariti es and p eri odic ,

errors as they w ill at onc e b ec ome evid ent from an i nsp ecti on of the val ues of A O ne com
’
.
,

mon f ormof irregul arity in screws is a c onti nuous increas e in the val ue from one end to the
oth er in which c as e A t ends to h ave the s ame sign at the tw o ends of the set and the opp osit e
’ ‘

sign in the middl e .

To d erive the mean micromet er val ue from the l atit ud e obs ervati ons let M, b e the diff er
enc e in tu rns of the micromet er read ings on the tw o st ars of a p air t ak en wi th the s am e sign
, , ,

as in the l atitud e c omput ation let r, b e the req uired c orrecti on to the assu med val u e ofone h
, alf ~

t urn wi th which the c omp ut ati on of the l atitud e w as m ad e let p b e the nu mb er of p airs and , ,

let 0 b e the c orrecti on to the m ean l atit ud e L et Agb h ave the s ame m eani ng as b ef ore ,

viz e tc 950 etc (See c omp ut ation on p

. F or each p air an obs ervati on eq uati on
.

Mm+ A¢ = 0 may b e writt en The res ul ti ng normal equ ations from which rl
,

of the f orm c .
,

may b e d eri ved are ,

pc
— 2 Mc+ 2
, l rl

The comput ati on will su fficiently acc urate if M, is c arri ed to t enths of t urns onl y and
be ,

as h ere i ndic at ed with out assig ni ng w eights to the s ep arat e p air

s .

T o the p reli mi nary val ues of 961 (p, the res ult s f rom the s ep arat e p airs may
now b e appli ed the c orrecti ons M
, ,

173 and the l atit ud e c omput ati on c ompl et ed as b ef ore .

R E DUC T I O N TO SE A LEVE L .

The red ucti on ofthe obs erved l atitud e to sea l evel is given by the xp ressi on
e

A¢ = hsin 2 96

in which M
Sis the c orrecti on in s ec onds of arc to b e appli ed to the obs erved l atitud e, h is the
el evati on of the st ati on ab ove sea l evel in m et ers , and (15 is the l atitud e of the st ati on This .

correcti on may b e gott en f rom the foll owi ng t abl e

D E T E R M I N A T IO N or LA T I T
UDE .

flatitude to sea level

R eduction o .

i
[The correct onis negativ in v ry
e e e case ]
 U . S
. COA ST AN D GEODE TIC U VEY
S R PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO
S . 1 4.

f lati tude to sea level

R educti on o fi
Continued .

CO RREC T I ON FOR V A RI A T I ON OF POLE .

The reduction m ean p osition of the p ol e is d erived from the p rovisi onal
to the res ults
p ublished by the L atit ud e Servic e of the I nt ernati onal G eod etic Ass oci ation ( See p . .

D I SCU SSI O N OF E RRO R S .

In d isc ussing the errors ofz enith t el escope obs ervations it is d esi rabl e to c onsid er s eparat ely ,
as on p ag e 48, the ext ernal errors , obs erver s errors and inst rument al errors
’
.

The princi pal ex ternal errors are th os e aris ing f rom errors in the ad opt ed d ecl inations and
th ose due to ab normal re ra t on
f c i .

A
 U . S . COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC SU R VEY SPECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14
.

Wh il e read ing the l evel the obs erver sh ould k eep in mind th at a very slight unequal or
unnec ess ary h eating ofthe l evel t ub e may c aus e errors s everal t imes as l arg e as the mere reading
error indic at ed ab ove and th at if the b ubbl e is f ou
,
nd to b e moving a reading t ak en aft er all ow ,

ing it to c ome to res t d elib erately m ay not b e p ert inent to the pu rp os e for which it w as t ak en .

The l evel read ings are int end ed to fix the p osi ti on ofthe t el esc ope at the inst ant wh en the st ar
w as bis ect ed.

I t requi res g reat c are in tu rning the mic romet er h ead to insu re th at so li ttl e l ongitudinal
forc e is ap pli ed to the sc rew th at the bis ec tion ofthe st ar is not aff ect ed by it Such a displ ac e .

ment of1 400 0 ofan inch in the p osition ofthe mic rometerline rel ative to the obj ec tive p rod uces
—

an app arent ch ang e of more th an 1

”
in the p osition of a st ar if the foc al l ength of the t el esc op e
is l ess th an 5 0 inch es The whol e inst rument b eing el astic the f orce req uired to p rod uc e such
.
,

a displ ac ement is s mall A n exp erienc ed obs erver has f ound th at in a s eri es of his l atitud e
.

obs ervati ons d uring which the l evel w as read b oth b ef ore and aft er the bis ections of the st ar
, ,

the f ormer readings c ontinually diff ered f rom the l at ter f rom 0 l to nearly alw ays in
, .

one directi on
1
.

Am ong the instrumental errors may b e menti oned th os e due ( 1 ) to an inclination of the
mic romet er l ine to the h oriz on; (2 ) to error in the ad opt ed valu e of one divis ion of t h e l evel ;
(3 ) to i ncli nati on of the h oriz ont al axis; (4) to erroneous pl acing of the azimuth st ops ; ( 5 ) to
-

error of c olli mation; ( 6) to the inst abil ity of the rel ative p ositi ons of diff erent p arts of the
i nst rument ; (7 ) to the i rregul ari ty of the mic romet er sc rew ; (8) to the error of the ad opt ed
mean valueof one t urn of the mic rometer sc rew .

The first ofth es e s ourc es oferrormust b e c aref ully g uard ed ag ainst as indic at ed onp ag e 1 06 , ,

as it t ends to i nt roduc e a constant error i nto the c omp ut ed l atit ud es The obs erver even if he .
,

att emp ts to mak e the bis ecti on in the middl e of the fi eld ( h oriz ont ally ) is apt to mak e i t on ,

one sid e or the oth er acc ord ing to a fi ,

x ed h abi t I f the li ne is i ncl ined his mic romet er read ings
.
,

are too g reat on all north st ar s and too s mall on all s outh s tar s or v i ce versa , .

The error arisi ng from an erroneous l evel val ue is s mall er the s mall er are the l evel correc
ti ons and the m ore nearly the pl us and mi nus c orrecti ons b al ance each oth er I f the obs erver .

makes it his rul e whenever the rec ord sh ows a l evel c orrecti on of m ore th an one division to
c orrect the inclination of the vertic al axis b etw een p airs this error will b e negligibl e L ittle , .

t ime is need ed for this if the obs erver avoids all revers als by simply mani p ul at ing a f oot screw -

so as to m ove the b ubbl e as much to the northw ard ( or the s outhw ard ) as the rec ord indic at es

the req uired c orrecti on to b e .

The errors from the third fou rth and fifth s ourc es may easily b e kept within s uch l imi ts
, ,

as to b e negligibl e An i nclinati on of 1 minut e in the h oriz ont al axis or an error ofth at am ount
.
,

in eith er c ollim ati on or azi muth p rod uc es only ab out , 0 1 error in the l atitud e All three .

of th es e adj ustm ent s mayeas ily b e k ept w ell w ithi n this lim it
'

The errors arising from inst abil i ty may b e s mall up on an averag e b ut th ey und oubt edly ,

b ec ome l arge at times and p rod uc e s ome of the l arg est resid uals O ne of the m ost imp ort ant .

fu nctions of the obs erver is to gu ard ag ainst th em by p rot ecting the inst rument from su dd en
t emp erat ure ch ang es and from sh ocks and c arel ess or unnec ess ary h andling and by avoiding
'

l ong w aits betw een the tw o st ars of a p air The clos er the agreement in t emp erat ure b etween
.

the obs ervi ng room and the out er air the more s ec ure is the inst rument ag ainst sudd en and
u neq ual ch anges of t emp erat ure .

Most mi cromet er screws now us ed are so regul ar th at the uneliminat ed error in the mean
res ult for a st ati on arisi ng fro m
the s eventh s ourc e named ab ove is us uall y regligible Irregu .

larities of s uffici ent siz e to p rod uc e a s ensible error in the m ean res ult may b e readily d et ect ed
by i nsp ection of the c omp ut ation of micrometer val ue if th at c omp ut ation is m ad e as i ndic at ed
onp ag es 1 2 6 1 2 8
—
The two f orms of irreg ul arity most freq uently detectedinmodernscrews on
.

our l atit ud e ins trument s are th os e with a p eri od of one t urn and th os e of s uch a f orm th at the
valu e of one t urn i nc reas es c ont inuously f rom one end of the sc rew to the oth er
“
The p eri odi c .

irreg ul arity op erates mai nly to i nc rease the c omp ut ed p rob abl e error of obs ervati on and must

U . S
. Co ast and G od eti c Survey R port
e e ,
1 892 , pa t 2 p
r , . 58.
 D E T E R MINA T ION O F LA T I T U D E .

be q uit e l arg e to h ave any s ensible eff ect up onthe c omp ut ed mean val ue of the l atit ude . If
the val ue of the screw inc reas es c onti nuously and uniform ly from one end to the oth er ,
the
c omp ut ed res ults wi ll b e free from anyerror arising from this s ourc e p rovided all s ettings are ,

m ade so th at the mean of the two mi crom et er read ings up on a pair f alls at the middle of the
screw I f this c onditi on is f ulfilled wi thin one t urn for each p air the error in the mean res ult
.
,

will us ually b e negligibl e I f the s ettings are not so m ade it mayb e necess ary to c omput e and
.
,

apply a c orrecti on for the irregul arity .

E videnc e has already b een p res ent ed on p ages 1 2 6 1 3 0 to sh ow th at it is di fficult to obt ain -

the act ual m ean m i cromet er val ue I t is imp ort ant th eref ore to g uard ag ainst errors arising
.
, ,

from the eighth s ourc e by s el ecting such p airs th at the pl us and minus micromet er differences
act ually obs erved at a st ati on sh all b al anc e as nearly as p ossibl e The final res ult will b e free .

from error from this s ourc e if the weight ed mean of the mi cromet er differences the signs b eing ,

p res erved is z ero The only effect of the error in the mean mi cromet er val ue in th at c as e is to
,
.

slightly increase the c omp ut ed p rob abl e errors The weigh ts are not h owever us ually known .
, ,

during the p rogress of the obs ervations I f the indiscrimi nat e m ean of the micromet er differ .

ences for each p air t ak en with resp ect to the signs is mad e l ess th an one tu
‘

, rn at a st ati on the , ,

error ofthe mean res ul t from this s ourc e will us uall y b e l ess th an its c omp ut ed p rob able error .

THE E CON OMIC S O F L A T I T UD E O B SER V A T I O N S .

q uesti ons imp eratively d emand an answer under this h eading Wh at rati o of num
N o
m
.

ber of obs ervati ons to numb er of p airs w ill give the aximum acc uracyfor a gi ven exp endi t ure
ofmoney and time ? Wh at d egree of acc uracy in the mean result for the st ati on is it d esirabl e
and j ustifi abl e to st ri ve f
“
or l
The answ er to the first q uesti on d ep ends up on the rel ative magnit ud e of the accid ent al
errors of d ecli nati on and of obs ervati on At 3 6 st at ions nearly on the thirty ninth p arall el .
—
,

i ch l atit ude obs ervati ons h ave b een mad e sinc e the b eginning of 1 880 the average val ue
“
at wh ,

of a the p rob abl e error of the mean of tw o d ec linati ons ( d eri ved from the mean pl ac e com
s
put t
a io ns) is i 0 1 6 ,
and the ext reme va
"
lu es.w e e i 0
r 1 2 and t o 23
”
At 3 7 st ati ons . . .

occ upi ed with z enith t el esc op es al ong the thirty ninth p arallel the ext reme val ues of e the
p rob able error of a s ingl e obs ervati on were i o 1 6 and i O ” 98 and at ab out one h alf of ,
"
-

. .
,
-
,

the st ati ons it w as l ess th an Sim il arly at 43 st ati ons al ong th at p arall el occ upi ed ,

wi th meridi an t el esc op es e w as l ess th an i 0 45 at one h alf the st ati ons and the extreme
”
.
-

In the light ofth es e fig ures one mayuse the f oll owi ng t able
” ”
valu es w ere i O 2 1 and i 1 2 7 . . .

todet ermine the most ec onomic al rati o ofnumb er of obs ervations to numb er ofp airs : ,

Wight to b
e e assi gne
d to mean latitudefroma single pair .

e b ei ng ass umed to b e 1 0 . 16 .

Numberofob servat ons on the i pai r

1 O ne t ou d h und r d and v nty v n ob vati on fo v i i n of l ati tud t S n F n i o in tw o i g v = i 0"

h
san two e se e -
se e ser s l 9 nd =
r arat o e a a ra c sc ser es a e e a e
$ 0 1 28 A i mil ar i at th H waiian I land in 1 891 92 243 4 ob vation g v O n th Mxi an bou nd y in 1 89 2 93 1 362
.

. s ser es e a s s -
ser s, a e e e c ar
ob vati on at fift n tation gav == A ll th ob v tion w mad wi th z ni th t l op ( S Co t and G od ti
, -

ser s ee s to s ee ese ser a s ere e e e esc es. ee as e e c

Su rv y R po t 1 898 Part 2 p 494; 1 892 Part 2 pp 54 and 1 58; 1 8
r s, 92 P t 2 p 50 and Mn an Bound ary R po t 1 89 1 1896 p ar
‘

e e , ,
.
, ,
.
, ,
.
, e e e r, f
.
,
 U . S. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC U V EY
S R S PECIAL P U B LICA TION N O . 1 4.

The m eas ure of effici ency firs t obs ervati on is the w eight sh own in the first c ol umn
of the
and of each s ucc eeding obs ervati on is the res ult ing i ncrem ent of w eight Thus if e= .
,

the firs t obs ervati on gives a w eigh t of 2 0 whil e the s ec ond obs ervati on is l ess th an one third
,
-

as efficient the i nc rem ent of w eight b eing only 6 and the fifth and sixth obs ervati ons com
b ined are ab out one ninth as effici ent as the first obs ervati on Stat ed oth erwis e the p rob abl e
, ,

— .
,

error of a si ngl e obs ervati on b eing in this c as e the s am e as the p rob abl e error of the m ean of

tw o d ecli nati ons lit tl e is g ained by redu cing the obs ervati on error whi l e the d eclinati on error
,

is all ow ed to remain I f e = 1 0 60 the t abl e sh ows th at the s ec ond and third obs ervati ons
. .
,

are each nearly as eff i ci ent as the first The l arger is e the l ess diff erenc e th ere is b etween the
.

first and s ucc eedi ng obs ervati ons b ut in every c as e the first ob servati on is m ore effici ent th an
,

any l at er obs ervati on .

I f each ob servati on aft er the first i nvol ved the s ame am ou nt ofti me sp ent in p rep arati on ,

obs ervati on and c omput ati on as the first it is evid ent th at to s ec ure a m aximum of acc uracy
, ,

for a given exp endi t ure each p air sh ould b e obs erved but once Ad di ti onal observati ons on .

new p airs req uire app reci ably more time th an the s am e numb er ofobs ervati ons on p airs already
obs erved only in the f oll ow ing it ems : P rep aring the obs erving list c omputi ng m ean pl aces , ,

and c omp uting app arent pl ac es Several obs ervati ons per p air s ave an app reci abl e am ou nt of
.

time in the app arent pl ace c omp ut ati on only wh en the s ucc essi ve nights of obs ervati on f oll ow
each oth er so cl os ely th at the app arent pl ac es on c ert ain nights may b e obt ained by int erp ol a

ti on (The i nt erval over which a straight line int erp ol ati on may b e c arried wi th sufficient
.
-

accu racy is three d ays ) .

Aft er b al anci ng thi s slight increas e in l ab or ag ainst the great er effici ency ofthe fi rst ob ser
vati on up on a p air over any s ucceed ing obs ervati on it is b elieved th at if e is not greater th an ,
”
O 40 each p air sh ould b e observed b ut onc e
.
,
I f e is mu ch grea t er th an tw o or p ossibly
.

even three obs ervati ons p er p air may b e ad vis abl e .

I t is t ru e th at ifb ut a singl e obs ervati on is m ad e up on each p air the obs erver in the field

by assuming e = 1 0
?
"
wil l not b e abl e to d et ermine his error of obs ervati on accurat ely (he may do so app roxim at ely
b ut the fi eld c omput ati on will still p erf orm its ess enti al fu ncti on
of d et ecti ng om issi ons and d eficiencies if they exist
W
.

h at d egree of accu racy in the mean res ult for a st ati on is it d esirabl e and j ustifi abl e to
strive for ? O mitt ing from consid erati on st ati ons occupied to d et ermine the vari ation of
l atit ud e and st ati ons occ upi ed up on a b ound ary at which one p urp ose ofthe l atitud e obs erva
,

ti ons is to furnish a means ofrec overi ng the s am e p oint ag ain the ordi nary p urp os e of l atitu d e ,

obs ervati ons in c onnecti on with a g eod etic s urvey is to d et ermine the station error in l atitud e ,

or in oth er w ords to d et ermi ne the d efl ecti on of the vertic al m easu red in the pl ane of the
, , ,

meridi an from the norm a

,
l to the sph eroid of reference at the st ati on B roadly st at ed the .
,

p u rp os e of ast ronomic obs ervati ons of l atitud e and l ongitu d e ( andto a l arge ext ent of azim uth
als o) in c onnection with a geod etic su rvey is to d et ermine the rel ati on b etw een the act ual fi g u re
ofthe earth as d efined by the lines ofacti on ofgravity and the ass um ed m ean figu re up on which
the g eod etic c ompu t ati ons are b as ed In d et ermi ning this rel ati on t hree cl ass es of errors are
.

enc ount ered : T he errors of the geod etic obs ervati ons the errors of the ast ronomic obs erva ,

ti ons a nd the errors arising from the f act th at only a few sc att ered ast ronomic st ati ons can
b e occupi ed in the l arg e area to b e c overed and th at the st ati on errors as m eas ured at th es e
,

few points must b e assum ed to rep res ent the f acts for the wh ol e area I t s uffices h ere in reg ard .

to errors ofthe first cl ass which are not wi thin the p rovinc e ofthis appendix to st at e th at th ey
, ,

are in g eneral of ab ou t the s ame ord er ofmag ni tud e as th os e ofthe s ec ond cl ass .

The averag e valu e of the st ati on error in l atit ud e with out reg ard to sign at 3 81 st ati ons , ,

us ed in the Su ppl ement ary I nves tig ati on of the F igure ofthe E arth and I s ost asy is An ,

ex aminati on of th ese st ati on errors sh ows th at al th ough th ere is a slight t end ency f or th eir
val ues for a gi ven regi on to b e of one sign and magnit ud e the val ues at adj ac ent st ati ons are
neverth eless so nearly i nd ep end ent th at the nonp redict abl e rat e of ch ange of the st ati on error
per mil e is freq uently m ore th an 0 1 Six st ations wi th in the D ist rict of Columb i a sh ow an
. .

irreg ul ar vari ati on of st ation error in l atitud e with a t ot al rang e of St ating the res ult
 P AR T IV .

M
D E T E R I N AT I O N OF T I CAZ I M
HE AST RO N O M U T HO F A D I RE C
T I ON .

G E N E RA L REMA RK S
Vari ous m eth ods are e mpl oy ed Su rvey for d et ermining as tro
in the Coast and G eod etic
nomi c ally the azi muth of a tri ang ul ati on li ne, or wh at is the same th ing , the d irecti on of th at
W
line i th resp ect to the meridi an, and th ere are, p erh aps , no oth er g eod etic op erati ons in which
the ch oic e of the m eth od , the p erf ecti on of the i nst rum ent , and the s kill of the obs erver enter
so directly i nt o the value ofthe res ult I t is i ntend ed to give h ere in a c onci se f orm an acc ount
.

of s everal meth ods now in use, and to p res ent the f ormul a e as w ell as sp eci mens of rec ord and

ex ampl es of c omp ut ati on I f it is p rop os ed to meas ure a p ri mary or s ub ordi nat e azimuth , the
.

obs erver will g enerally h ave the ch oic e of the meth od m ost s uit abl e and ad equ at e for the pur
p os e, and acc ordi ngly p rovid e hi ms elf wi th the p rop er i nstru ment ; yet frequ ently he may find
hims elf already p rovid ed with an i ns tru ment , in which c as e th at m ethod will h ave to b e s el ect ed
which is c omp atibl e with the mech anic al means at h and and at the s am e time insu res the
g reat es t acc uracy .

"
The astronomic azi muth or the angl e which the pl ane of the m eridi an m akes with the
,

vertic al pl ane p ass ing through the obj ec t wh os e di rec ti on is to b e d et ermined is g eneral ly ,

reck oned from the s outh andin the di rec ti on southw es t etc However wh en circump ol ar s t ars ,
.
,

are obs erved it will b e f ound more c onveni ent to reck on fromthe northmeridi an andeas tw ard
th at is in the s ame di recti on as b ef ore
,
.

The g eod etic azi muth diff ers f rom the astronomic azi mu th The f ormer is su pp os ed .

free from l oc al d efl ecti ons ofthe pl umb line or vertic al it b eing the mean ofs everal astronomic ,

azi muths all ref erred g eod etic ally to one s t ati on and it may b e s upp os ed th at in this normal
, ,

azimu th the s everal l oc al d efl ecti ons will h ave neu tral iz ed each oth er The as tronomic azimu th .

is of c ours e s ubj ect to any displ ac em ent of the z enith due to l oc al att racti on or d efl ecti on
W
.
, ,

e may disti ng uish b etween p r im ary and s ec ond ary azi mu ths— the one fixi ng the direc
tion of a sid e in p rim ary tri ang ul ati on the oth er h aving ref erenc e to sid es of s ec ond ary or
,

t erti ary tri ang ul ati ons or to directi ons in c onnec ti on with the m easu re of the m ag netic decli
nati on F or the d et ermi nati on of a p ri mar
.
y azimu th the l oc al ti me (sid ereal ) mus t eith er be
k now n— as for i ns t anc e wh en a t el egraphic l ongit ud e is at the s am e ti me d et ermined or
, ,
-

sp eci al obs ervations mus t b e mad e for it F or s ub ordinat e azimu ths ti me and azi muth obser
.
,

vations may s ometi mes b e mad e t og eth er as wi th the alt azimuth instrum ent for m ag netic
,
-

p urp os es in which c ase the s un s li mbs are us ually obs erved In refi ned w ork in high l atitud es
,
’
.
,

and for c ert ai n rare c ases in low l atit ud es the t ransit i nst rum ent is need ed to f urnish the ebro
,

nometer c orrecti on F or p ri mary azi muths in l atit ud es not g reat er th an th os e in the U nit ed
.
,

St at es the l oc al ti me may b e f ound wi th s uffici ent acc uracy by means of an esp eci all y con
, .

struct ed vertic al ci rcl e us ed in the Coas t and G eod etic Survey and shown in ill us trati on N o
, ,
.

8 F or s ec ond ary az i muths l oc al ti me may b e f ound by m eans of s ext ants or al t az imu th

.
,
-

ins truments .

P RIMA R Y A Z IMU T H .

The req uirements for p ri mar

zi muth are th at the astronomic azi muth ob servati ons and
y a
the nec ess ary ti me obs ervati ons sh ould b e m ad e usi ng s uch meth ods i ns trument s and numb er , ,

of obs ervati ons as to mak e it reas onably c ert ai n th at the p rob abl e error of the ast ronomic
az imu th d oes not exc eed i 0 I t is not d esirabl e to sp end much time or money inred ucing
”
50 . .

1 38
 No 18
. .

TWELV E I N CH D I R ECT I O N TH EO D O L ITE

-
.
 V EN I N CH
SE -
AT I N G THEO
R EPE D O L ITE .
 DE T E R MINA T ION OF AZI MU T H .

thep rob abl e error bel ow thi s am ou nt At L apl ac e s t ati ons ( c oincid ent tri ang ul ati on l ongi .
,

t ud e and azim uth st ati ons ) h ow ever the as tronomic azi muth sh ould b e d et ermined wi th a
‘
, , ,

p rob abl e error not g reat er th an 3 0 and the obs ervati ons sh ould b e m ad e on at l eas t tw o
nights . W
h en obs ervati ons are mad e to d et ermi ne the as tronomic azi muth of a line of the
p rimary tri angul ation the azi muth s tati on sh ould c oi ncid e w ith a st ati on of the t ri ang ul ati on
,

and the mark us ed sh ould b e s ome oth er st ati on of the sch eme In this w ay the azi muth is .

ref erred directly to one of the li nes of the t ri angul ati on The p rob abl e error of the azi muth .

of a li ne ob t ained f rom an obs erved ast ronomic azi muth on a m ark s ep arate from the trian gu
l ati on is g reat er th an the p rob abl e error of the obs erved azi muth .

The p ractic e in the U nit ed St at es Coast and G eod etic Survey is for the p arty on p ri mary
t ri ang ul ati on to obs erve all nec ess ary astronomic az imuths during the p rog ress of the triangu
l ati on . W
h ere a direc ti on ins tru ment is us ed the s t ar is oft en obs erved up on in the regul ar ,

s eries of obs ervati ons up on the t ri ang ul ati on st ati ons In s uch c as es the l as t obj ect ob served .

up on in any one s eri es i s the s t ar and the i nst rument is revers ed i mmediat ely aft er the fi rs t
W
,

p ointing up on it h ere the s tar is ob served up on in c onnecti on wi th tw o or more t ri ang ul a

.

ti on s t ati ons the s t ati on next p rec eding it is the one to which the astI onomic azi muth i s
,

ref erred .

IN ST RUME N T S .

g reat a vari ety of inst ruments is us ed for azimuth d et erminati ons th at it is of littl e
So
avail to d esc rib e any p articul ar i ns trument in d et il I ll ust ti o N o
n 8 sh ws inch 1
a ra 1 o a 1 2 — . .

di recti on th eod olit e ( N o 1 46 ) mad e at t his offic e and now in use for the meas urement of h ori
_

z ontal angl es and azim uths in p ri mary t ri angul ati on I t c arri es a very accu rat e grad uati on .
,

whi ch is read to s ec onds di rectly and to t enths byesti mati on by th ree mic rosc op es 2 A gl ass .

h ard st eel c ent er also c ont rib ut es t ow ard making thi s th eod oli t e and oth ers of id entic al con
,

st ructi on furnish resul ts of a very high d egree of accuracy The gradu ati on of the horiz ont al .

ci rcl e on this inst rument is to 5 sp ac es An 8 inch rep eating th eod olit e reading to five s econds
’
.
-

by tw o opp osit e verni ers is sh own in illust rati on N o 1 9 F or obs ervati ons on the sun for azi . .

muth in c onnecti on w ith magnetic d et ermi nati ons a s mall 4 inch th eod olit e is oft en us ed -

( See ill ust rati on N o 2 0 This inst ru ment reads to minut es on each of tw o opp osit e verni ers
. . .

The t ransit i nst rum ents and meridi an t el esc op es d esc rib ed i n c onnecti on with time obs ervati ons
on p ag es 7 8 are als o f requ ently us ed for azimuth eith er In the meridi an ( p 1 60 ) or in the vertic al .

p la ne of a ci rcu mp ol ar st ar at or near el ongati on ( p

W
.

h en the az imuth is obs erved du ring the p rogress ofthe p rim ary t ri angul ati on the regul ar
t ri angul ati on signal lamps sh own in illust rations N os 2 1 and 2 2 are us ed The sm all er l amp . .

can b e s een und er averag e c onditi ons to a dist anc e ofab out 3 0 mil es The l arg er l amp has b een .

obs erved in the s outhw est ern p orti on of the Unit ed St at es wh ere the at mosph ere is very cl ear , ,

up to dist anc es of 1 2 0 mil es Wh ere the mark is only a sh ort dist anc e from the st ati on an ordi
.
,

nary l ant ern a b ull s eye l ant ern or an el ect ric h and l amp may b e us ed
’
,
In c onnecti on with a
,
.

t ri angul ati on al ong the c oast the l ant ern of a lighthous e can b e us ed as the mark .

IN ST RUM EN T SU PP O R T S .

Whil making obs ervati ons for a s ec ond ary azi muth the i nst rument used is usually supp ort ed
e

up on its ow n t rip od mount ed up on st ak es d ri ven fi rmly i nt o the ground In p ri mary t ri angul a

, .

ti on the th eod oli t e is frequently mount ed up on a t rip od whi ch may b e as much as 25 or m ore
met ers ab ove the ground Wh ere the inst rument is not elevat ed it is mount ed up on a sp eci ally
.

c onst ruct ed w ood en t rip od or st and whi ch has its l egs fi rmly set int o the ground andw ell b rac ed .

O n the top of the l egs is fitt ed a w ood en cap usu ally 2 inch es thi ck O n this cap are f ast ened .

the pl at es which rec ei ve the f oot sc rews of the th eod oli t e .

The st ruct ure sh own in illust rati on N o 2 3 is us ed to el evat e the inst rument in t ri angul a .

ti on and azimuth w ork I t c onsists ofa t rip od on which the i nst ru ment rests and a four sid ed
.
-

1 F oll owi ng th u u l p ti th s
e s a iz ofth th od oli t i h d ignat d by gi vi ng th di am t ofth grad u t d horizontal ir l
rac ce, e e e e e s ere es e e e er e ae c c e.
3 F ora m o ompl t d
re c ip tionofthi i n trum nt R po t fo 1 894 pp 265 274
ee escr s s e see e r r , .
— .
 U . S
. COA ST AND GEO D E T IC SU R VEY PECIAL PU BLICA T ION N O
S . 14
.

scafl old on whi ch the obs erver st ands

'

The t rip od and sc affold do not t ouch each oth er at any

.

p oi nt The topfl oor ofthe sc affold is not need ed on azimuth w ork and is only us ed on p rim ary
.

t ri angul ati onwh en th ere are tw o obs ervi ng p arti es w orking inc onj uncti on A c ompl et e descrip .

ti on oft hi s typ e ofsignal is gi ven on p ages 82 9 to 842 ofApp endi x 4 R ep ort for 1 903 Most of , .

the azi muth st ati ons are in p l ac es wh ere it is difficult to c arry l umb er and as a result it is usu al ,

to h ave no pl atf orm around the st and wh en the i nst ru ment is only el evat ed ab ove the g round
’
to the h eight of the ob server s eye . W
h ere no pl atf orm is us ed the obs erver sh ould b e c areful
not to st ep cl os e to a leg of the st and whil e maki ng the obs ervati ons on the st ar Such pre .

c auti ons are not nec ess ary to the s ame ext ent while making the obs ervati ons on the m ark
(or t ri angul ati on st ati on) assuming ofc ours e th at the mark is not far f rom b eing in the h ori z on
, , ,

of the st ati on As a result of not usi ng an obs erving pl atf orm it may b e nec ess ary to m ak e
.

m ore ob s ervations to get the d esi red d eg ree ofacc uracy th an if a pl atformhad b een us ed The .

errors resul t ing f rom not h aving a pl atf orm are m ain ly of the accid ent al cl ass and th ei r effec t
on the final azi mut h is s mall .

Wh ere b oth azi muth and l atitud e are to b e obs erved at a st ati on but not at the s am e t ime ,

as the t ri angul ati on observati ons a w ood en pi er si mil ar to th at sh own in illust rati on N o 24
.

.
,

has b een f ound s atisf act ory in every w ay I t w as used to a great ext ent by f ormer Assist ant
W W
.

. H Bu rger and to a limit ed ext ent by Assist ant

.
Bowi e I t will b e s een th at the sp read . .

d SIO pe of the l egs of the st and mak e it p ossibl e to mount on it each of the i nst rum ents in
t urn the top s ecti on of the pi er b eing removed when us ed for l atitud e The pi er is mad e as
,
.

if for the azimuth w ork and th en the top is s aw ed off at such p oi nt as will mak e the b as e ofthe
,

pi er of the requi red h eight for the l atitud e i ns trument .

A Z IMU T H M A RK .

Wh en it is nec ess ary to el evat e a signal l amp over a t ri angul ation st ation us ed as a mark
a nu mb er ofd evic es may b e us ed A si mpl e p ol e w ell guy ed is f requ ently used b ut this is not
.
,

very s atisf act ory for it is diffic ult to keep the s upp ort ofthe l amp accu rat ely c ent ered over the
,

st ati on m ark A d evic e lik e th at sh own in illust rati on N o 2 5 may b e us ed and this has the
. .
,

ad vant ag e th at the light k eep er d oes not h ave to c li mb the p ol e wh en p ost ing and i nsp ecting
the l amp A very s atisf act ory and inexp ensi ve st ructu re f requ ently us ed in the Unit ed St at es
.

Coast and G eod etic Su rvey is shown in illust rati on N o 2 6 The l egs ofl umb er 2 by 4 inch es in . .
,

c ross s ecti on are anch ored securely inthe g round andat int ervals the st ructu re is guyed by wire
,
.

The light k eep er g oes up the i nsid e of t his signal and near its t0 p th ere is an op eni ng l eading
Such a signal may b e built to a h eight of 1 40 f eet or m ore An
,

out to a seat . ac etyl ene l amp .

,

lik e one ofth os e sh ownin illust rati ons N os 2 1 and 22 sh ould b e p ost ed at the di st ant t ri angul a
.
,

tion st ati on us ed as the mark .

Wh en the azimuth ofa line ofthe t ri angulati on is not measu red di rectly a sp eci al azi muth ,

m ark is erect ed whi ch is aft erw ards referred to the t ri angul ati on by m eans ofh oriz ont al angl es
, .

Th ere has b een c onsid erabl e vari ety in the az i muth m arks so u s ed each chi ef ofp arty ad apting ,

the m ark to the sp eci al c onditi ons in which he fi nds hi ms elf and to his own c onveni enc e A .

b ox w ith op en top h aving in its f ront f ac e a rou nd h ol e or a slit ofsuit abl e siz e th rough whi ch ,

the light of a b ull s eye or c ommon l ant erncan b e sh own mak es a s atisf act ory m ark
’
See illus , .

tration N o 2 7 A whit e or bl ack st rip e ofp aint or signal muslincanb e pl ac ed on the b ox cen
. .
,

tered over the op eni ng up on which to m ake obs ervati ons d uring the day in ord er to ref er the
,

ast ronomic azi muth of the mark to a li ne of the t ri angul ati on .

The l oc ation ofthe m ark is generally d etermined in p art at l east by the configu rati onofthe , ,

grou nd s urrou nd ing the st ation bu t it sh ou ld not b e pl ac ed any nearer th an ab ou t one st at ute
,

mil e in ord er th at the sid ereal focus ofthe t el esc op e maynot requ ire ch anging b etweenp oint ings
u p on the st ar and u p on the m ark s inc e any such ch ange is likely to ch ange the error ofc ollim a
,

tion Should the m ark b e cl os er to the s tation th an one mil e and no ch ange b e m ad e in the
.

sid ereal focu s wh en p ointing up on the m ark th ere w ould p rob ably b e errors c aus ed by p arall ax
, .

I f p ractic abl e the m ark sh ould b e pl ac ed nearly in the h oriz on ofthe st ati on occupi ed in ord er
, ,

th at s mall errors ofincl inati on ofthe h oriz ont al axis of the i nst ru m ent maynot aff ect the point
 DE T E R M INA T ION or AZI M U T H . 1 41

ings u p on the m ark , and c orresp onding readings of the s triding level w ill b e u nnec essary In . .

choosing the p ositionofthe mark it sh ou ld b e k ept in mind th at the higher the line ofsight to it .

ab ove the int ervening ground the m ore st eady the light may b e exp ect ed to sh ow andthe sm all er
the errors to b e ex pect ed from l ateral refracti on .

SHE LT E R FOR THE IN ST RUMEN T .

An esp eci ally d esigned t ent sh ould b e us ed to shi eld the i nstrum ent from the wind I llu s .

trations 1 6 and 1 7 sh ow tw o t ents which h ave p roved s atisf ac t ory The tent sh ould b e only as
W
.

h eavy as is nec ess ary to withst and st rong winds and p rotect the instruments from rain hen .

not inactu al use the instru ments us ed for azimu th obs ervati ons sh ould b e dismounted and pl ac ed
in th eir p ac king c as es O wing to the sh ort tim e d uring which an azi muth st ati on is occu pi ed
.

for obs ervati ons it is usu ally not nec ess ary or d esirable to erect a w ood en obs ervatory to p rotect
the ins tru m ents .

A R T IFICI A L HO RI Z ON .

I nstead inclinati on ofthe horiz ont al axis by readings ofa st rid ing level
ofd eterm ining the ,

obs ervati ons are s om etimes tak en u p on the i mag e of the st ar as s een refl ect ed from the free
su rf ac e of m ercu ry ( an artifici al h oriz on) in additi on to the direc t obs ervati ons u p on the st ar .

The error in azimuth p roduc ed by the inclinati on ofthe horiz ont al axis is ofthe s ame num eric al
value for the refl ected obs ervati ons as for the direct obs ervati ons bu t is revers ed in si gn and , ,

the m ean result is free from error from this s ou rc e provided the c ross —s ecti on of each pi vot is
,

circu l ar or at l eas t th at the tw o pivots h ave simil arc ross s ections s imil arly pl ac ed Consid erabl e
,
-
.

c are and ingenu ity is nec ess ary to p rot ect the mercu ry eff ectu al ly ag ainst trem ors and ag ainst
w ind eith er of whi ch wil l by disturb ing the mercu ry su rf ac e make the reflect ed st ar im ag e so
,

u nsteady as to make accu rat e p oint ing u p on it d ifficul t or imp ossible A gl ass roof over the .

m ercu ry to p rotect it from the wind sh ould never b e empl oy ed in c onnection with azimu th
obs ervations si nc e revers al ofit d oes not su ff
,
iciently c orrect for errors arising from refracti on at
the gl ass L arge b oxes or tub es ofc onsid erable size wi th their op enings c overed wi th mosqu it o
.
, ,

nett ing have p roved the m ost s atisf actory p rotec ti onofthe mercu ry ag ainst the wind
, .

It is b eli eved th at the l at eral refracti on ofthe direct and refl ect ed ray wh en the m erc ury is ,

set on the grou nd may introduce uncertain and p ossibly l arg e error
,
s into the a zim uth This .

t roubl e canb e avoid ed by pl ac ing the artifici al h oriz onon a st and nearly as high as the th eod olit e .

This h ow ever can not b e d one wi th the d irection th eod olite (excep t in very low l ati tud es )
, ,
.

The artifici al h oriz on can not b e us ed in high l atitud es wh en making obs ervations onP ol aris as ,

the h oriz ont al circl e ofthe th eod olit e w ould i nterc ept the refl ect ed ray .

P OIN T I N G L I N E S .

The p ointings t ak en by us ing eith er a singl e vertic al

in azim uth obs ervati ons are us ually
li ne in a reticl e ( or att ach ed to a mi cromet er) or a p ai r of p arall el vertic al lines ab ou t 2 0 ”

( ofarc) ap art The firs t has the ad vant ag e over the s ec ond th at i t d oes not i nvol ve the nec essi ty
‘

of bis ecting a sp ac e by eye as the obs ervati on c onsists si mply of noting wh en the st ar im ag e

“
,

app ears symmetric al wi th resp ect to the line O n the oth er h and i t has the dis ad vant ag e th at
.
,
”
freq uently wh en a very b r ght st ar ( or light ) is obs erved the line app ears to b e b urned off
i
near the st ar i mag e ; th at is it b ec om es i nvisibl e b ec aus e of its c omp arati ve f aintness and the
, ,

p ointing is c orresp ondingly u nc ert ain So al s o if a very f aint st ar (or light ) is obs erved i ts
.

i mag e may nearly or c ompl et ely di s app ear b ehind the line and so mak e accu rat e p ointing
difficult F or m any st ars ofint ermedi at e d egrees of b rightness one or the oth er of th es e di ffi
.

cu lties exists to a g reat er or l ess d eg ree I f tw o verti c al lines are us ed and the dist anc e b etw een
.

th em is p rop erly chos en th ese two diffic ulti es will b e avoid ed and b oth st ar (or m ark ) and li nes
will alw ays b e di stinctly visibl e at the s am e inst ant The obs ervati on now c onsists in noting .

wh en the im ag e of the st ar ( or mark ) bis ec ts the sp ac e b etw een the tw o lines This p roc ess is .

p rob ably b ut s lightly l ess accu rat e u nd er any c ondi ti ons ofb rightness th an the di rect bis ecti on
 U . S . COA ST AND GEODE T IC V
SU R E Y S PECIAL PU BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

ofa st ar i mag e und er the m os t favorabl e c onditi ons as to b righ tness In m eas uring h oriz ont al .

angl es and azi muths in C ol orad o U t ah and N evad a al ong the th i rth—ninth p aral l el and on all
, , , ,

p ri mary t ri ang ul ati on on the ninety eigh th meridi an sinc e 1 90 1 and on the T ex as Californi a -

,
-

arc O f p ri mary t ri ang ul ati on tw o vertic al lines ab ou t 2 0

”
ap art w ere us ed ,
.

D uri ng the p rog ress ofthe tri ang ul ati on al ong the w est ern p art O f the thi rty ninth p arall el
obs ervati ons w ere m ad e at ti mes up on P ol aris in d aylight to d et erm
-

i ne the astronomi c azi muth .

This is a s atisf act ory meth od and occ asi onally is c onveni ent for the obs erver .

G E N E RA L CO N SI DE RA T I ON S .

L et d ec linati on ( d) and l atit ud e ( (p) b e slightly in error by the qu antiti es

the h our angl e ( t) , ,

dt dd and d¢ and let dA eq ual th ei r ef

, , ,
fect up on the azi muth ( A ) th en in g eneral i t wi ll b e , ,

s een th at al l oth er ci rc ums tanc es b eing equ al dA inc reas es as the z eni th di s tanc e (C
, ) d ecreas es ; ,

for a st ar near the p ol e and for a l ati tud e not too high a sm al l error in ti me andin l ati tud e has
b ut a s light eff ect up on the azi muth and in the c as e O f a ci rc ump ol ar st ar at el ong ati on ( wh en ,

the p aral l acti c angl e is a s mall error in ti me dt will not aff ect the az i muth ; bu t small

m
, ,

errors in d eclinati on dd and in l atit ud e d th en att ain nearly th ei r maxi mum effect up on the
, , , ,

azi muth I f obs ervati ons are mad e up on a ci rcump ol ar st ar ( d>

. at the east ern and at the
w est ern el ong ati on eff ects of dd ari d d¢ will dis app ear in the c ombinati on O f the tw o res ults ;
,

this th erefore is the most f avorabl e c ondi ti on for obs erving In g eneral eff ec ts O f dd andd¢
, ,
.
,

di s app ear inmean res ults of obs ervati ons of equ al and O pp osit e azi mu ths In O bs ervati ons .

on a ci rc ump ol ar st ar inthe meri di an the eff ect of a s mal l error in tim e and in right asc ensi on
may b e elimi nat ed by a c ombinati on O f results from upp er and low er culminati ons ; for a st ar
in the m eridi an the q uanti ti es dd and d¢ do not ent er in the azi muth I f the O bj ect to b e .

obs erved st ar ( or sun) is O f g reat p ol ar d

,
i s tanc e ( als o d< w) and if dis p ositi ve the b est ti me
, , ,

for O bs ervi ng is b ef ore the east ern t ransi t or aft er the w es tern transi t over the p ri me vertic al , ,

wh en the ch ang e in azi muth wi th resp ect to tim e is a mini mum b ut the st ar ( or sun) sh ould ,

not b e too near the z enith nor b e so low as to b e aff ect ed by ch ang es ofrefracti on; if dis neg ati ve ,

the st ar ( or sun) sh ould b e O bs erved s ome dist anc e from the meridi an 1
.

Th es e consid erati ons h ave led to the pl an of making fi rst—cl ass azim uth O bs ervati ons al most
exclusi vely up on the cl os e circump olars a d and l U rs a eM i noris and 5 1 Ceph ei The app arent , ,
.

pl ac es ofth es e four st ars are gi ven in the Am eric an E ph emeris for every day ofthe y ear Ill us .

trationN O 2 8 will assist in readily findi ng the tw o f ai nt er st ars AU rs a

. e M inoris and 5 1 Cephei ,

whi ch b arely b ecome visibl e to the nak ed eye und er the most f avorabl e ci rcumst anc es ; i t also
sh ows th at wh en d Urs ae Minoris and 5 1 Ceph ei c ulminat e on eith er sid e of the p ol e P ol aris is ,

not far from its el ong ati on; and lik ewis e wh en the p ol e s t ar c ulm inat es the oth er tw o are on
, ,

O pp osit e sid es of the meri di an near th ei r el ong ati ons A simil ar app roxi mat e rel ati on exists .

b etw een a and ii U rs ae M

,

inori s P ol aris Offers the ad vant ag e O f b eing obs ervabl e in d ay ti me

.

with p ort abl e instruments ; h enc e i t may b e O bs erved at east ern and w est ern el ong ati ons or
e M
,

at upp er and l ow er c ulmi nati ons p rovi d ed the sun b e not too high ; 11 U rs a inoris f rom its
, ,

g reat er p roximi ty to the p ol e and its s mall er siz e p res ents to the l arg er i ns tru ments a finer and ,

st eadi er obj ect for bis ecti on th an P ol aris ; 5 1 Ceph ei is al s o ad vant ag eously us ed on acc ount O f
i ts s mall siz e The s tar B A C N O 4 1 65 sh own on the di ag ram w as p rop os ed and us ed for
. . . . .
, ,

azi mu th w ork by Assist ant G D avids on The app arent p rec essi onal moti on of the p ol e in
. .

1 0 0 y ears is indi c at ed by the di recti on and l ength of the arrow The sun is employ ed only to .

d etermine azi muths O f i nf eri or acc uracy g enerally in c onnecti on with the d et erminati on ofthe ,

magnetic d eclinati on .

l The ments made ina general and somewhat ind efini te formin this p aragraph may b e stated in accurate mathematical formby d eriving
state
in terms ofat do da respecti vely f romthe form
, ul a , ,

— sn t i
( see p . or ro f mthe (ormulae used inits d erivation .
 DE T E R MINA T ION OF AZI M U T H .

G EN E RA L FOR MU L ZE .

F our meth ods O f d et ermini ng azi muth willt reat ed in d et ail in thi s p ublic ati on namely be , ,

( 1 ) the m eth od in whi ch a di rec ti on th eod oli te is us ed as in the measu rement O f h oriz ont al ,

directi ons ; (2 ) the method of rep etiti ons with a rep eati ng theod oli te; (3 ) the mic rometric
.

m eth od usi ng an ey epi ec e mic rom eter; ( 4) the d et ermi nati on of azi mu th from ti me obs erva
,

ti s wi th a t ransi t
o n o r m e idi an t el esc op e app roxi m
r ately in h
t e m eridi an ‘
Cert ai n f ormul ae .

which are c omm onto the firs t three O f th es e methods will b e s tat ed h ere for c onveni ent ref erenc e .

The c omp utati on ofthe azi muth ofa t errestri al line ofsight f roma set ofazi mu th obs erva
ti ons c onsis ts essenti ally of a c omp ut ati on of the azi mu th ofthe s tar at the i nst ant of O bs erva
ti on a c omp,
u tati on O f the h oriz ont al angl e b etw een the st ar and the mark andthe c ombi nati on ,

of th ese two results by addi ti on or sub tracti on .

In the sph eric al tri angl e d efined by the pole the z eni th and a st ar the sid e z eni th —p ol e is , , ,

the cO l atitud e the sid e st ar p ol e is the p ol ar di st anc e of the st ar and the angl e at the p ol e
-

,
-

is the h our angle or i ts expl em ent St arti ng f rom th es e three as known p arts the sph eric al
m
2
.
,

t ri angl e may b e s ol ved by the ordi nary f ormul ae of sph eric al t rig ono etry The s ol uti on to .

O b t ai n the azi muth O fthe s tar which is the angl e O f this t ri angl e at the z eni th may wi thout
, , ,

anyapproxi mations b e put in the f orm ,

tan A =

in which A is the azi muth O f the st ar c ounted from the north in a cl ockwis e di recti on, and 3

the our an e t
h gl is c ounte d w estw ard f rom upp er c ul mi nati on c ontinu ously to 2 4h
,
or at

the next upp er cul mi nati on This is the m ost c onveni ent f ormul a for use w ith eith er of the
.

first three methods The first t erm O f the d enomi nat or ch ang es very sl owly and may b e t abu
.

l at ed for slightly different val ues O f d d uring the p eri od of O bs ervati on The s ec ond t erm for .
,

a cl os e ci rc ump ol ar star may b e c omp ut ed wi th s uffici ent accu racy by fi

,
ve pl ac e l og arithms -
.

The c omp ut ati on O f the azimuth from this f ormul a may b e c onsid erably short ened by
m
transf or i ng it as i ndi c at ed b el ow and using the t abl e gi ven on p ag es 1 65— 1 7 3 :

tan A =

cot dsee (p sin t

cot dsee

in which a= c ot d tan cos t .

The s ec ond f orm of this f ormul a is ab out as c onvenient as the first I t i nvol ves the s ame .

nu mb er O fl og ari th ms as the first and one l ess red uc ti on f rom l og arith ms to numb ers .

The t hird form in c onnec ti on with the t ables given on p ages 1 65 1 7 3 gi ves a m uch q uicker —

c omput ation p rocess th an eith er of the oth er two In using this f orm and the t abl es log cot .

dsee (p sin t must b e c arri ed to six pl ac es andlog cot dtan m

,

cos t to five pl ac es The m ost con .

venient arrangement of the c omp ut ati onis sh own on p age 1 48 The f ormul a and t abl es involve .

no app roximati ons andthe only errors res ulting fromtheir use are th os e arising f rom the c ast —O ff
,

d ecimal pl aces ( l og ari thms limi ted to six pl aces ) Thes e errors are of the accid ent al cl ass and .
,

l The method ofd etermi ni ng azi muth

by ob v tion uponth un t ny hou angl i not t at d in thi p ubli ation b au it i ued
ser a s es a a r e s re e s c ec se s s
mal nlyi n making ob vati on fo mag n i d li na ion and a d crip ti on ofi t wi th tabl fo maki ng h p arall ax and fra ti on orr tion i
Prini pal F a t ofth E th Magn ti m publi h d in 1 909 nd al o i n “
,

gi v n in“
ser s r et c ec t s es es r t e re c c ez s, s
Di cti on fo Magn ti Ma ur m nt p ubli h d in 1 91 1
,
’ ” ”
e c cs e ar s e s s e , a s re s r e c e s e e s s e

both i u d by th C oa t and G eod ti Surv y

,

ss e e s e c e

In thi p ub li ati onth h our ngl w ill b r k on d w tw d f omz o at upp ulmi nati on( i n a i ng wi th th l ap ofti m ) to360 o 24
.

3 s c e a e e ec e es ar r er erc cre s e se e
°
r h.
0 In a tronom i s omp utati on i t i m
cc o onv ni nt to count th azi muth f om th nor h i n t ad off omth ou h a in g od i
s s re c e e omp uta
e r e t se r es t s e et c c

tions Ifth directi on ofth ount i l o kwi a h r tat d to h ang fromon kom ng to th oth i i only n a y to add or ub
,

. e ec sc c se, s e es e , c t e e rec e er t s ecess r s tr

ac

Th fo mulaand th tabl
e r both opi d from F o mln nd Hl l/ a/ lnfii G ogr phi h O b timmungm von Prof D Th A lb h t
e e are c e r c a i st e r e a sc e rta ea r. rec
L eipz g 1 894 Th rang ofth tabl n u how v b n on id ably x t nd d
. .
,

i . e e e e , e er, ee c s er e e e .
,
 U . S . COA ST AN D GEODE T IC U VEY
S R S PECIA L PU BL ICA T ION N O . 14 .

wil l s eld om exc eed O 0 4 for any c as e c overed by the t abl e and fo sm
”
. r m ost obs ervati on ade ,

b el ow l atit ud e 50 the error will not exc eed

°
Th ese qu antiti es are so s mall in c omp ari on s

with the errors of obs ervati on as to b e neglig ibl e A few obs ervati ons mad e in Al ask a may be .

b eyond the rang e of the t abl es on p ages 1 65 1 7 3 and wh en th at is f ound to b e the c a s e one -

, ,

may easily s ubstit ut e the s ec ond f ormul a on p age 1 43 for the third 1
m
. .

To co p ut e the azimuth of a st ar at the t ime of each p oi nting m ad e up on it d uring a set

of obs ervati on s is an unnec ess aril y l ab ori ous p roc ess I f for the h our angle t of the azimuth .
, ,

formul a is t aken the mean of the h our angl es of the set the c omp ut ed azimuth is th at c orre ,

sp onding to the meanhour angle b ut is not the req uired mean o fthe azimuths corresponding to the
,

sep arate hour angles sinc e the rat e of ch ange of the azimuth is c ontinu ally varyi ng b ec ause of
,

the c urvat ure ofthe app arent p ath ofthe st ar The differenc e b etw een the two qu antiti es i ndi .

cated by the it alics is s mall th ough not us ually negli gibl e for the i nt erval oft im
, e c overed by a ,

set ofobs ervati ons The m ost c onveni ent w ayofmaking the c omp ut ati onfor a set ofobs erva
.

ti ons is to use the mean h our angl e in the azimuth f ormul a and apply to the res ult a
1
Curvatu re Correction= tan A
n s m1
in whi ch n is the numb er of p ointi ng s up on the st ar in the set andr for each obs ervati onis the
diff erence 2 b etween the t ime of th at obs ervati on and the m ean of the times for the set The .

sign ofthis c urvat ure c orrecti on is alw ays s uch as to d ecreas e numeric ally the azimuth reck oned
from the north or in other words if azimu ths arecount ed cl ockwis e its algebrai c sign will b e
, ,

wh en the st ar is west of north and when the st ar is east of north I f the st ar crosses the .

meridi an d uring the p rogress of a set the c urvat ure c orrecti on will ordinarily b e zero The .

formul a is app roximat e b ut for circumpolars and for the int erval of tim e usu ally c overed by
,

a set of ob servati ons its error s are negligibl e . The val ue of the

on p ages p u
1 5 1 — 1 5 2 of this
blic a ti on ?

I f the st ar obs erved is P ol aris a c onveni ent rough ch eck on the c omp ut ati onmay b e
m
,

obt ai ned f rom T abl e V ofthe Americ an E ph e eris and N autic al Al manac entitl ed A zimuth of ,

P ol aris at all Hou r Angl es .

Bec aus e of the rapid m otion of the obs erver due to the rot ation of the earth on its axis, ,

a s tar is s een slightly displ ac ed f rom its real p osi ti on The requi red .

The sign of the c orrection is alw ays p ositive wh en applied to az imuths counted clockwis e .

The g reat est vari ation of the correction f rom its mean valu e O 3 2 for the f our c irc ump olare
”
, .
,

ordinarily obs erved and for l atit ud es not g reat er th an is 0 02 The c orrection for diu rnal . .

ab errati on need not b e appli ed to the s ep arat e s ets b ut simply to the mean res ult for a st ati on .

If the h oriz ont al axis is incl ined wh en the p ointings are m ad e up on eith er the st ar or the
m ark the c orrections indic at ed b elow must b e applied .

L evel Correcti on

ifthe s trid ing l evel c arri es a g rad uati on numb ered in b oth di recti ons f rom the middl e d is .

’ ’
h
t e val ue o one di vision o t
f f he l evel a d w, e and w , e are the w est and east readings ofthe
n
1 Variou other formul a forcomputing the azi muth ofcircumpol ar tars have been proposed and u d
s e h ofth m q uir i th th m s se E ac e re es e er e sa e
o a gr at rti m f putati onth nthat h gi v n wh nth whol omputati on i n l ud ing th p pa ati onof th uxili y tabl q uir d
.

r e e orth om
e ec a ere e e e ec c e re r ea ar s re
e e

“
wi th om ofth m i t k n i nto a ount A uni fo mi ty ofp a ti i cond u i v to pid omputati on it i on id r d d i bl th t all hould
, ,

s e e s a e cc s r r c ce s c e ra c sc s ee es ra e a s
u th fo mul gi v n nd th fo no oth h tat d It hould b not d th t th fo mul a gi v n i a urat and g n ral ; that i it
.
, .

se e r a
e e a ere re ers are ere s e s e e a e r e s cc e e e s,
appli l o i umpol t nyhour ngl
.
,

toany ofth
es e c se c rc ars a a a e
2 1m
.

I f manti m hronom t i u d th v l u 2 1 m1 "h ould b in a d by it on h und d nd igh ti th pa t

3
3 a e ec e er s a
se , e e s e cre se s e re a e e r .

Thi tabl wa opied f ompag 6344 37 ofD ooli ttl Pra ti al A t onomy Th tabularval u m yb found in v i ou oth r pl a
s e sc r es es
’
c c sr . ese es a e ar s e ces.
 u
ecr

AZ I MU TH MA R K .
 D ETE R MI N A T I O N or AZI M U TH . 1 45

level b efore and aft er revers ing it h is the al titu

. d e of the st ar I t is onl y nec ess ary to know .

happ roxim at ely— an occ asi onal reading ofthe s ett ing c ircl e will give it with abund ant acc uracy ,

If the g rad uation on the st riding l evel is nu mb ered c ontinu ously in one di recti on the

L evel Correc w
’
) (e e

in which the p rim ed l ett ers ref er to read ings t ak en in the p osi tion in which the nu mb ering
inc reas es t ow ard the east 1 .

I f the mark is not in the h oriz on of the inst ru ment a simil ar c orrection, if app reci abl e,
must b e appli ed to readings up on the mark , h now b eing the altit ud e of the m ark O rdinarily .

the mark is so nearly in the h oriz on of the inst ru ment th at tan h is nearly z ero and the correc
ti ons required to p ointings up on the m ark are negligibl e .

The formul a as w ritt en gives the sign of the c orrection to b e applied to the readings of a
h oriz ont al c ircl e of whi ch the numb eri ng inc reas es in a clockwis e di rection This is als o the .

signofthe correc tion to the comp ut ed azimuth ( cou nt ed cl ockwis e) for l evel readings in connec
tion wi th p ointings up on the m ark , b ut in c onnection with p ointings up on the st ar the sign
must b e revers ed to give c orrec tions to the c omp ut ed azim uth ofthe m ark .

DI RE C T I O N M E T H O D — AD J U S T ME N T S .

The m easu rement of an azi muth by this method is ess entially simil ar to p roc ess of the
m easu ring a d ifferenc e of tw o h oriz ont al directions with a direc tion th eod olit e The q uantity .

measu red in this c as e is the diff erenc e of az imuth of a circump ol ar st ar and a mark instead of
a dif f erenc e of az imuth of tw o t ri angul ation s ignals The f act th at the az imuth of the st ar is
.

c ontinually ch anging adds new f eat ures to the c omput ation and m ak es it nec ess ary to know ,

the tim e of each p ointi ng up on the st ar The f act th at the st ar is at a c onsid erabl e altit ud e
.

mak es readings ofthe st rid ing l evel a nec essi ty and d ec reas es the accu racy of the m easu rement
b ec aus e errors of inclination of the h oriz ont al axis h ave a mark ed infl uence as c ont rast ed with
th ei r c omp aratively unimp ort ant effects up on the meas urements of horiz ont al angles in a
t riangul ation .

The adj ustm ents required are id entic al with thos e which are nec ess ary wh en the inst rument
is to b e us ed for the m eas urement of h orizont al d irections The adj ustm ents of the focus of .

the t el esc op e of the l ine ofc oll imati on for b ringing the vertic al lines of the reticl e int o vertic al
, ,

pl anes of the s ett ing c ircl e (if used ) and of the str ding l evel may b e m ad e as d esc rib ed in
, ,
’

c onnection with a t ransit on p ag es 1 44 6 The vertic al axis of the inst ru ment must b e mad e
.

to p oint as nearly as is f easibl e to the z en i th by b ringing the st riding level to the p rop er reading
in each of tw o p ositi ons at right angl es to each oth er .

The mic rosc op es wi th which the h oriz ont al c ircl e is read must b e k ep t in adj ustm ent .

O rdinarily it will only b e f ou nd nec ess ary to adj ust the ey epi ec e by push ing it in or p ull ing

it out unt il the most distinct visi on is obt ained of the mi crom et er lines and of the c ircl e
g radu ation I f the mic romet er lines are not app arently p arall el to the gradu ati on up on which
.

the p oint ing is to b e m ad e th ey sh ould b e mad e so by rot at ing the mic rom et er b ox ab out the
,

axis of figu re of the mic rosc op e I f to do this it is nec ess ary to l oos en the mi c roscop e in
.

its s upp ort ing cl amp g reat c aution is nec ess ary to insu re th at the dist anc e of the obj ective
,

from the circl e of grad uation is not ch ang ed The error of run of the reading micromet ers
.

sh ould b e k ep t sm all In other w ords the valu e of one tu rn of the mi cromet er in terms of
.
,

the ci rcl e g radu ati on sh ould not b e all owed to differ much f rom its nomi nal val ue The val ue .

ofthe mic rom et er may b e adj ust ed by ch anging the dist anc e of the obj ective f rom the g rad ua
tion The nearer the obj ective is to the gradu ation the s mall er is the valu e of one t urn A
. .

ch ang e in this dist anc e als o nec essit at es a ch ang e in the dist anc e f rom the obj ective to the
mi c romet er lines th es e lines and the g radu ation b eing nec ess arily at c onj ug at e foci of the
,

1 f
See ootnote on p . 23 .
81 36°— l 3
1 46 U . S. COA ST AN D G EODE T IC SU R VE Y SP E CIAL P U BLIC AT IO N N O . 1 4.

obj ective .This adj ust ment of the mic rom et er valu e is a di fficult one to m ak e bu t wh en onc e ,

w ell mad e it us ually rem ai ns su ffici ently good for a l ong p eriod .

As st at ed on p ag e 1 3 9 p rim ary az imuths are nearly al w ays obs erved du ring the p rogress of
,

the p rim ary t ri ang ul ati on and the s am e instrum ent is us ed to m ak e the obs ervati ons on the
,

az im uth st ar th at is us ed to d et ermine the h oriz ont al directi ons ofthe l ines ofthe t ri angul ati on .

F or a numb er ofy ears p ast on l y the 1 2 inch ( 3 0 cm) directi on th eod oli tes ( d escr
i b ed inApp en
-
.

dix 8 Coast and G eod et ic Su rvey R ep ort for 1 894 ) h ave b een us ed on p ri mary t ri angul ation
, .

(See illus trati on N o P ractic ally all the obs ervati ons for p rimary az imuth are mad e on
.

P ol aris In rec ent y ears the az imuth obs ervati ons h ave b een m ad e at the s ame t ime th at
.

horiz ont al obs ervations are b eing m ad e— th at is P ol aris is obs erved at a s etti ng of the instru
ment in c onnection wit h one or more ofthe tri angul ation st ations The obs ervati ons on P ol ari s
,

are m ad e at the end of the p ositi on in ord er th at the direct and revers ed obs ervati ons on the
st ar may c ome cl os e t og eth er I nst ead ofd et ermining the astronom i c az imuth ofthe li ne us ed
.

as the i niti al direction for the h oriz ont al angl e w ork it is c onsid ered th at the az i muth has b een
d et ermined of the line obs erved over j ust p revious to the obs ervati ons on P ol aris If at any .

st ation it is nec ess ary to make the obs ervations for az imuth in c onnection with two lines of the
t riangul ati on th en the p rob abl e error of the angl e b etw een the tw o l ines must b e t aken int o
,

acc ount in d eri vi ng the p rob abl e error of the az imuth Wh en a q uadril at eral syst emis us ed in .

the t ri angul ati on and b oth di ag onal lines are obs erved th en at each st ati on th ere will b e fi ve ,

p ri mary d irections to obs erve .

Illust ration N o 2 9 sh ows the lines radi at ing from such a st ati on The st ati on A the first
. .
,

to the east of P ol aris is ch os en as the initi al and the oth er st ati ons are obs erved in tu rn f rom
,

l eft to right and aft er obs ervat ions h ave b een m ad e on E th ey are m ad e on P ol aris I f for
, .
,

any reas on the li ne to E is not obs erved with the oth er st ations d uring obs ervati ons for any
,

one p ositi on th en P ol aris als o Sh ould not b e obs erved

,
L at er on the i nst ru ment sh ould b e set .

for the missing p osition and P olaris sh oul d b e obs erved in c onnecti on with st ati on E
,
.

The obs erver is inst ruct ed to s ecu re an accu racy repres ent ed by a p rob abl e error of 50 .

for the great er p orti on of the p rim ary az i mu ths and the obs ervati ons may all b e mad e du ring ,

one night This accuracy can usu ally b e s ecu red by obs erving one set in each of f rom 1 2 to
.

1 6 p ositi ons ofthe inst rum ent Inno c as e must anazimuth d ep end up onl ess th an 1 0 p ositi ons
. .

At s ome of the tri angul ati on st ati ons wh ere the acc umul at ed twist of the t ri angul ati on is
to b e d et ermined by a c oi ncid ent l ongit ud e and az imuth st ati on the az i muth is d et ermined
”
with an accu racy rep res ent ed by a p rob abl e error of i 0 3 0 and the obs ervations are m ad e .
,

on at l east two nights .

D I REC T I O N ME THO D ~
E XA MP L E OF RE C O RD AN D C OM P U T AT I O N .

Th ere are sh own b el ow samples of rec ords of azimuth obs ervati ons on P ol aris and the
'

c omput ations The obs ervati ons w ere c arri ed on at the s ame ti me th at obs ervations of h ori
.

z ontal d irections w ere m ad e at the p ri mary t ri angul ati on st ati on Sears in T ex as The chro , , .

nometer c orrecti on and rat e were d et ermi ned from obs ervations wi th a vertic al circl e on s tars
app roxim at ely on the p rime vertic al E x ampl es of the ti me obs ervati ons and c omput ati ons
.

m ad e at Sears for use in the az imuth obs ervations are sh ow n on p ages 5 4 and 55 of thi s
public ation .
 P olaris

D I AG R A M SH O WI N G D I R E CT I O N S TO T R I ANG U LAT I O N STAT I O N S A N D P O L A R I S

 D ETE R MI N A T I O N or AZI M U T H . 1 47

m25 1
F or
Homzontal derecttons .

i
[Stat on, Sears Tex (
, . T i ng ul ationStati on) Ob
ra . server, WBowi
. e. I nstrument
, Th od oli
e te 1 68
. D at
e, D ec. 22 ,

Bac kwa d r Mean Re mark s

1 Morrison 1 di vi ion of th= e

idin g l v l
s
str e e

Buzz ard

A ll en

Pol aris
F orm 380 .

i
[Stat on, Sears Tex , . Ch onom t
r e er, s id erea l 1 769 . 33 Instni ment . h dl
t eo o ite 1 68 . Ob server, W Bowi . e. ]

8 1 1 599
. 8 1 1 362
.

005445

log a
t n A )
-

( to 6 places) 7 684220 7 882866

m
. .

A = Az rmuth ofP olaris, f ro north* 0 1 6 36 9 0 26 1 5 0

Di ference in t me b etween i m m
. .

D
_

f . 3 s
and R . 3 18 1 38
C urvature correction

— 4 9 .
— 5 0
.
— 4 9
.
— 1 3.

252 01 86 58 2 81 54 116 45

C orrected readi ng on P ol aris 252 01 24 7 86 58 06 2 281 54 22 1 116 45 47 3

C ircl e reads on mark
. . . .

1 70 14 57 O . 5 1 5 58 2 . 2 00 17 42 4. 35 1 8 45 4 .

D i fference mark Polari s

"
— 27 8 1 3 32 3 27 8 1 7 2 7 8 23 20 3 2 7 8 32 58 1
C orrectedazimuthofP olaris f rom
. . .
,
.

north 0 06 50 8 . 0 11 09 2 . 0 16 36 9 . 0 26 15 0 .

180 00 1 80 00 1 80 00 1 80 00

A z i muth ofA llen 98 0 6 98 0 6 98 06 98 06

( Clo kwi f om outh )
c se r s

l f
Tothe meanresu t romthe a bov comput ionmu t b appli d o tion fo diu n l b ti onand n ri i y ( if
e at s e e c rrec s r r a a erra ecce t ct any) of Mark
‘

C y i
arr t m gl h of ond only
es and an es to tent s sec s .

Minu ifw t ofnorth

s, es

1 Th val u h own inthi lin a a tual ly four ti m th in lin tionofth h o izont l axi int m ofl v l di vi i on
.

e es s s e re c es e c a e r a s er s e e s s.
 U . S . COA ST AN D G EODE T IC U VEY
S R S PEC IAL PU BLICA TION NO . 14
.

The chronomet er ti me ofthe obs ervati ons on P ol aris and als o the l evel readings are sh own
in the rec ord The ti me ofmaking an obs ervati on may b e not ed by the obs erver w ho picks up
“
.

and c arri es the b eat of thechronomet er or an assist ant may not e the cl ock tim e up on a signal
Wh en the l att er meth od is used the obs erver c al ls Mark wh en the st ar
,

from the obs erver .

”

is bi sect ed
.

The chronomet er c orrecti ons sh own in the c omp ut ati ons res ult ed from a sp eci al s eri es of
time obs ervations wi th the vertic al circl e at the st ati on (see pp 5 4 and .

The f ormul a us ed in making the c omp ut ati on is the third f orm of the azi muth f ormul a
I
sh ownonp ag e 1 43 . The t abl es onp ag es 1 65 to 1 7 3 whi ch gi ve the l og arithmof 1 a
w ere us ed in
the c ompu t ati ons . Much ti m
is s aved in s uch c omp ut ati ons as the ab ove by c arryi ng al ong all
e

the diff erent s ets at one ti me and th us w orki ng al ong the h ori z ont al lines of the f orm sh own -

i nst ead ofd own each c olu mn Al s o tan gb andsec ct are c onst ants for the st ati on cos t andsint
.
,

may b e t ak en out at one O p ening of the l og arith mt abl e etc A c omp aris on of c orresp ondi ng ,
.

p arts ofdi ff erent c olu mns f urni sh es rough ch ecks which s erve to l oc at e any l arg e errors qui ckly .

The value of one divisi on ofthe s trid ing l evel is 4 1 9 4 In g eneral one set lik e the ab ove
”
. .
, ,

in each of 1 2 to 1 6 p ositi ons of one of the 1 2 i nch th eodolit es will gi ve a p rob abl e error of
-

the res ult l ess th an i 0

”
50 E ven wh ere the obs ervati ons for azi muth are mad e c oi ncid ently
. .

wi th th os e for h oriz ont al directi ons in a tri angul ati on th ere is no di fficul ty in c ompl eti ng the
azi muth obs erv ati ons a t a st ati on in one evening F or sp eci al st ati ons a p rob abl e error ofthe
.

res ult of i or l ess must b e g ott en and obs ervati ons must b e mad e on more th an one night .

The g eneral p ractic e now in the Coast and G eod etic Survey is to mak e onl y one p ointing on the
s t ar in each of the p ositi ons of the t el esc op e and th erefore the c orrecti on for curvature ofthe
p ath of the st ar b etw een the two p oi ntings is usu ally negligibl e When th ere is a d el ay in .

maki ng the s ec ond p oi nting the curvature c orrecti on sh ould b e c omp u ted by the f ormul a sh own
.

on p ag e 1 44 .

3
2

T ab ul ar valu es of
231 1— 1 are gi ven on p ag es 1 5 1 — 1 52 . The s mall t abl e sh own b el ow gives
the valu es of the curvat ure c orrecti on direct for val ues of the i nt erval 2 1 b etw een the two , ,

p ointings on the st ar from 2 to 7 minut es and azi muths ofP ol aris l ess th an 2
, for use with
,
°

the directi on meth od wh en only tw o obs ervati ons are mad e on P ol aris for one s et ting of the
,

instrument .

Curvature correction .
 DE T E R MINA T ION OF A Z I MU T H
. 1 51

2 sin2 r

II
U . S. COA ST AND GEODE T IC SU R VEY PEC IA L P U BLICA T ION N O
S . 1 4.

2 si n 2
% r
 U . S
. COA ST AND GEODE T IC SU R VEY SPECIA L PU BLICAT ION N O . 1 4.

.
Cmnputation
' —
A zimuth byrepetitions .

[K ah t h
a c ee, A la
'
. 13

D ate , 1 898, set J une 6 5 J une 6 6

1 4 54 17 . 7 15 11
— 31 . 1 — 3l . 1
14 53 46 . 15 11
6 17 . 1
1 2 1 20 . 1321 20 . 3
13 32 1 3 49 56 . 8
2 03
° ’ ° ’
06 5 207 29 0
88 45 46 9 .

8 1 1 426n
. 8 09857 n
.

log tan A ) ( to 6 laces) 8 0000 57 n

A = Az imuth of P 0 ris, f rom
.

north*

W
2 sin 2 i r
r and

C orrected angle 72 57 48 7
C orrected azi muth ofstar
.

*
0 34 22 2
.

A z i muth ofmark E ofN 73 32 10 9

. 73 32 11 2 .

1 80 00 1 80 00

A z imuth ofmark 253 32 253 32

( C lock w ise f romsouth)

To the mean resul t fromthe ab ove comp utation must b e applied Corrections for diurnal ab enationand eccentrc t
'
i i y ( if any) ofMa k Carry
r .

im
t gl
esand an es h d ly
to tent s of secon s on
Minu if w h p
.

s est ofnort .
3
1 See footnot e on . 1 48.
 DE T E R MINA T ION OF AZI M U T H . 1 55

ME T H O D OF RE P E T I T I ON S— E X PL ANA T I O N OF REC O RD AN D CO M P U T A T I ON .

Throughout the obs ervati ons the instrument w as al w ays t urned in a clockwise direction
ab out its vertic al ax is In set N o 5 the swing from the mark to the st ar w as mad e wi th the
. .

upp er m oti on l oos e and l ow er moti on cl amp ed and th erefore wi t h the ci rcl e reading ch anging , ,

andin set N o 6 the revers e w as the c as e

. Inset N O 5 the expl em ent ofthe s mal l angl e b etween . .

the s t ar and the m ark w as really meas ured whil e in N o 6 the angl e i ts elf w as meas ured Both ,
. .

res ul ts may b e c omp ut ed di rec tly in terms of the angl e by making the s ub trac ti ons th us in set ,

No 5 . .

inset N o 6 , .

' ° '
27 00 . 0) — 1 00 16 20 . 0 ° '
72 51
6

cl amp on the horiz ont al ci rcl e p roduc es a c onst ant error eith er by draggi ng or
If the ,

overrun ni ng th es e two res ul ts will b e eq ually in error wi th O pp osit e si gns and th ei r mean w ill
, ,

b e free from the c ons tant p art of the cl amp error H enc e it is d esi rabl e to O bs erve the s ets .

alt ernat ely in the ord er Mark St ar St ar M

,

ark as h ere indic at ed

'

- -
.
, ,

The su mmary of res ul ts for thi s s tati on sh ows 3 7 s ets of obs ervati ons w ere mad e on fou r
nights Fromthe 1 8s ets O bs erved in the ord er Star Mark the mean azi muth w as 7 3 3 2 1 2 0 7
.
’ -
°
.

and f rom the 1 9 s ets obs erved in the ord er M

,

ark Star the mean w as 7 3

’
32 sh owing -
°

th at the cl amp error w as very s mal l The ad opt ed indiscriminat e mean O f all the 3 7 s ets w as.

°
7 3 32
’
The c orrecti on for di urnal ab err ati on b eing appli ed the res ult ing ,

azim uth of the m ark E of N eq uals 7 3 3 2 1 2

’
,
’
80 1 0 1 6
. The p rob abl e error O f a singl e
.
°
. . . .

th es e O bs ervati ons the inst ru ment w as supp ort ed up on its t rip od the l egs ofwhich
D uring ,

w ere set up on l arg e st ak es d ri vens oli dl y i nto the grou nd .

The l evel readings w ere t ak en wi th the first thi rd fou rth and six th p ointings up on the , , ,

st ar th at is at the b eginning and end of the set and j ust b efore and j ust aft er the revers al O f
, ,

the t el esc op e In each c as e the l evel w as read in one p osi ti on j ust b efore p erfecting the p ointing
.

u p on the st ar and in the oth er p ositi on i mmedi ately af ter the p ointing up on the st ar The
,
.

val ue of one di visi on of the l evel w as

The comput ati on needs no fu rther expl anati on The formul a .

tanA cot 5 sec sin

w as us ed .

The c orrecti on for el evati on of m ark wh en app reci abl e is appli ed in the final s ummary , ,

ofresults j us t as in the c as e O f the di recti on method

,
The reducti on to the m ean p ositi on ofthe .

p ol e is als o appli ed to the final res ul t bu t ,

for obs ervati ons p revi ous to the y ear 1 900 no such
reducti on can now b e mad e ( See p . .

MICROME T R IC M E T H O D — EXAM PL E OF R ECO R D AN D C OM P U T A T I O N .

In the mic romet ric meth od the s mall difl erence O f azi muth of the st ar and the m ark is
2 ’

m eas ured wi th an ey epi ec e micromet er, i nd ep end ently of the g rad uated h oriz ont al ci rcl e of
the i nstru ment , even if it has one The mark must th erefore b e pl ac ed nearly in the vertic al
.

ofthe st ar at the ti me at whi ch i t is to b e O bs erved The meth od may b e us ed w ith the s tar at .

any h our angl e, b ut u n

-
l ess the s tar is near el ong ati on it will p ass b ey ond the s af e rang e of the
mic rometer af ter b ut two or th ree s ets of obs ervati ons h ave b een taken, Wh ereas if the mark
1 p h ld i th onv ni nt [a t that in di viding an ngl by i th r mai nd wh n th d gr
The com uters ou not ce ec e e c a e sx e e er, e e e ees are di vid de is the tens
figur inth mi nut and th mai nd in th mi nut i h t n figu in th ond
,

e e es, e re er e es s t e e s re e sec s

nt ofthi m th od tog th r wi th om hi to i al not A ppendix N o 2 ofth R po t fo 1 891

.

2F orana ou cc s e ,
e e s e s rc es, see . e e r r .
1 56 U . S . COA ST AN D G EODE T IC SU R VEY SPECIAL P U BLICA T ION N O . 14 .

is pl aced nearly und er the st ar at el ong ati on ( p referably one or two minut es of are insid e) the
obs ervati ons may b e c ontinued for tw o h ours or more and the res u l ts will also b e nearly ind e
p end ent O f the chronomet er error The instrum ent us ed may b e a th eod oli te a meridi an .
,

tel esc op e a t ransit or in f act any inst rument h avi ng a s tabl e h oriz ont al axis and f urn
, , , , i sh ed
wi th an ey epi ec e micrometer c ap abl e of m eas uring angl es in the pl ane d efined by the t el escop e
and i ts h oriz ont al axis .

R ecordand computation— A zimuthbymicrometri c method .

i
[Stat on N O 1 0, Mexi can Bound ary D ate, O tob r 1 3 1 892 Ob rv r J F H I n t um nt F uth R p ati ng Th odoli t
c e se e sr e a e e e e, N o 72 5 ( 1 0 in ).
Pol i n a t n l ong ti on ]
. . . . . . .
, , ,

St ar, ar s e r eas er e a .

Level reading s Mi crometer readings

Ch onom t
r e er
ti m e

9 9 . 9 06 3 8 0 .

7 3 . 07

+1 8 0 . 2
+0 8 .

9 12
7 0 . 10 9 . 1 2 24 7 .

9 1 0 36 6 . M eans

Cofstarat mi ddle offirst hal f ofset= 58 °

cosec c= 1 1 691 cot
’
58 47 = O 606
°
. .

middle ofsecond hal f ofset= 58

. .

= 1 1 695
Cofshtaramt
°
cosec c . .

(I = 1 20 44’

Coll imationax is reads

-

M ark east ofcolli mati on ax is O 0 1 63

. 02 ” 02 .

C i rcle star E ofcollim ation ax is — l 8 297 l ) 0 1 252

C ircle W star E ofcoll i mation ax i s
. . .

.
,
.
— 1 80 91 2) O 2408
.

M ean ,
star E . ofcoll i mati on ax i s O 1 830 =
. 22 . 64

M ark west ofstar

Level correction
Mark west ofstar ,
corrected

M ean chronometer ti me ofO b servati on

C hronometer correction
Sidereal time
a

H our angle
-

,
t, in ti me 17 39 01 . 0
in arc 45’
°
264

7 0890 6
. 11

l hi i n t
In t s s r u ent m i n a d r adi ng of th mi om t
cre se e s e cr p d to a mov m nt of th li n of ight tow ard
e er corres on e e e e s the east wh en the veri
t cal
i l
c rc e is to the east, a nd tow d th w t wh nth v rti al ir l
ar e es e e e c c c e is to th w t
e es .
 U . S . COA ST AN D G EO D E T IC S R U VEY S PECIA L PU BLICA T ION N O . 14 .

vations, the c orrecti on to b e appli ed to each O bs erved ti me to red uc e it to wh at i t w ould h ave

b een wi th the t rans vers e ax is h ori z ontal is

for upp er c ulmi nati on and for a l evel of whi ch the g rad uati on is numb ered b oth w ays from the
mi ddl e F or l ow er c ulmi nati on the sign O f the c orrec ti on must b e revers ed
. .

Anoth er c onveni ent w ay ofdet ermi ning the mi cromet er val ue, all in d ay light , is to meas ure
a s mal l h oriz ont al angl e at the i nstru ment b etw een tw o t erres tri al O bj ects , b oth wi th the
microm et er and the h ori z ont al ci rcl e of the th eod oli te Thi s m eth od is l ess li abl e to c onst ant .

errors th an the ci rc ump ol ar meth od .

I f the azim uth m ark is pl ac ed to the southward O f the st ati on, the p rogram of obs erving
and the c omp utati on are bu t sligh tly modifi ed .

DI SCU SSI O N OF E RRO R S .

I t is c onveni ent and

c ond ucive to concis eness to dis cuss s ep arat ely the ext ernal errors ,
’
obs erver s errors and inst rum ental errors which t og eth er comp ris e the errors of obs ervati on
, , .

The ex terna l errors aff ecting azim uth d et erminati ons are th os e due to l ateral refraction
of the rays of light f rom the st ar or m ark to the inst rum ent to error s in the ad opt ed right ,

asc ensi on and d ecl inati on O f the st ar O bs erved and to error in the ad opt ed l atitud e of the sta ,

ti on of O bs ervation .

E x amination of m any s eri es of azimu th O bservations indic at es th at in general th ey are , ,

s ubj ect to s om e error which is p eculi ar to each night of O bs ervation and c onst ant for th at ,

night b ut ch anges from night to night F or ex ampl e f rom 1 44 s ets of micromet ric obs erva
f erent nights at 1 5 st ati ons on the M
.
, ,

tions of azirn uth m ad e on 3 6 d if ,

exic an b ou nd ary in
1 892 93 it w as f ound th at the error p eculi ar to each night w as rep res ent ed by the p rob abl e
—
,
”
error i O 3 8 and th at the p rob abl e error of each set excl usive of this error w as
.
, , ,

In oth er w ords in this s eri es O f O bs ervati ons the error p ec uli ar to each night which c ould not
, ,

h ave b een eliminat ed by increasing the numb er O f obs ervations on th at night w as tw o thirds ,
-

as l arg e on an averag e as the error O f obs ervati on in the res ult f rom a si ngl e set
, ,
Simil arly .
,

from the p ubl ish ed res ults of 4 1 8 s ets of microm etric obs ervations on 8 nights at a E u rop ean
”
st ation it foll ows th at the error p eculiar to each night w as t o 55 whil e the p rob abl e error
2
,
.
,

ofa s ingl e set w as t 0 80

”
The microm et ric O b servati ons are p eculi arly ad apt ed to exhibit ing
. .

this error b ec aus e of their great acc uracy and the rapidity wi th which th ey may b e t ak en
,
.

Azimuth w as O bs erved at 7 3 st ations on the t ranscontinent al t ri angul ati on al ong the thirt y
ninth p arall el Most O f th es e O b servations w ere t ak en by the direction m ethod and although
.
,

th ey are for vari ous reas ons b ut p oorly ad apt ed as a rul e to exhibiting the errors p eculi ar
, , , ,

to the s ep arat e nights th ere are no l ess th an 1 6 c as es out ofthe 7 3 in wh

,
i ch a m ere insp ecti on
indic at es th at th ere w ere errors of th at ch aract er .

The m ost pl ausibl e expl anation O f the ab ove f acts s eems to b e th at th ere is l at eral refrac
tion b etween the m ark and the ins t rument d ep end ent up on the p ec uli ar atmosph eric condi ,

tions O f each night Wh eth er th at expl anation b e t ru e or not the f act rem ains th at an increas e
.
,

ofaccu racy in an azim uth d et erm inati on at a gi ven st ati on may b e att ained m uch m ore readil y
by increas ing the numb er of nights of obs ervation th an by increasing the numb er of s ets on
each n ight I f one s eries of O bservati ons is m ad e early in the evening and anoth er s eries j ust
.

before d awn on the s ame night th es e s eries may b e consid ered in so far as the p rec eding sen , ,

t ence is concerned to b e on d iff erent nights as the atm osph eric conditions will h ave b een
, ,

gi ven an op p ortuni ty to ch ang e .

The line from the st ation to the m ark sh ould not p ass cl os e to anyO bj ects such as a smok e ,

st ack b uildi ng cl ump of t rees or a hill

, ,
E ven wh en the line is cl ose to the ground which has
,
.

1 See R e ional Bound a y Commmion U ni t d Stat and Mxi o 1 891 96 ( Wa hi ng ton

po t ofInt
r ernat r pp 69—72r e es e c -
s
Stati on K mp nwand S pp 68 92 V O fi ntli hung d r K O nl gl Bay ri h n Com mi ion Mr di I nt n tional E rdm g A tron
. .
, , ,

essun
‘
1 a e . ee -
er e c e . e sc e ss e er a e s

omi ch G odii ti h A rb i t n Hft 2 ( M

.
, ,

s e- e sc e iin h n e e , e c e ,
 D E T E R MINA TION OF AZI M U T H . 1 59

a d ecid ed sl op e norm al to the line th ere mayb e d ecid ed l at eral refracti on D uring the p rimary
, .

tri angul ation in the city ofG reater N ew Y ork the errors on the lines which w ere cl os e to st acks
and b uildings w ere much great er th an on the cl ear lines Th ere w as a l ine in the T ex as Cali
.
-

fornia arc of p rim ary triangul ation whi ch at one p oint w as very close to the sid e of a st eep
hill The line w as obs erved f
. rom the end nearest the hill on s everal d ays and nights with a ,

tot al range in the m eans for the s everal O bs erving p eriods of s econds of are I t w as found .

th at the O bs ervations m ad e wh en the wind w as bl owing across the line t ow ard the h ill g ave
the m ore reliabl e res ults (See p 62 ofSp eci al P ublic ation N O 1 1 of the U S Coas t and G eo
. . . . .

d eti e Survey ) .

The p ositi ons O f the four p rincip al cl os e c ircu mp ol are h ave b een d et ermined by so m any
observati ons at the fix ed O bs ervat ori es und er s uch f avorabl e c onditi ons th at it is difficult to
b eli eve th at the errors in th eir ad op t ed ri ght asc ensions and d eclinati ons are s uffici ently l arg e to
p rod uc e errors in the c omp uted azim uths th at are oth erwi s e th an s mall in c omp ari son with the
oth er errors involved in the azim uth obs ervati ons O n theoth er h and wh en P ol aris ( or s ome
.
,

oth er circ ump ol ar) has been observed at b oth culminati ons or b oth el ong ati ons at a gi ven ,

st ati on the obs ervati ons at one culminati on ( or el ong ati on) h ave O ft en sh own a t end ency to
,

diff er by a c onst ant from th os e at the other culminati on (or el ong ation) as if the ad op t ed right ,

asc ensi on ( or d eclinati on) w ere in error I t sh ou ld b e b orne in mind in such c as es th at the
.

atm osph eric c ondi ti ons h ave b een revers ed so to sp eak b etw een the culminations (or el ong a
, ,

ti ons ) for in one c as e the temperature will b e rising and in the oth er f al ling in general the
n

, ,
.

tw o c as es occurring at the extreme ends O f d arkness or oflight or one in the d arkness and the ,

oth er in the light Henc e only a l ong and c areful investigati on w ill d etermine wh eth er s uch
.

c onst ant d iff erenc es are due to d efective s t ar pl ac es or to ch ang ed atmosph eric c onditi ons .

I t is imp ort ant from a p ractic al p oint O f vi ew to not e th at if the azimuth O bs ervati ons at a
st ati on are all mad e up on one st ar and are equally distribu t ed b etw een tw o hour angles d iff er ~
,

ing by ab out tw elve h ours the mean res ult will b e s ens ibly ind ep end ent of the errors O f the
,

ad opt ed right asc ensi on and d eclinati on and the c onditi ons will b e d ecid edly f avorabl e to
,

el iminating the eff ects of l at eral ref rac ti on from the mean res ult .

An error in the ad opt ed l atitud e ofthe st ati on p rod uc es the max im um eff ect wh en the st ar
is O bs erved at el ong ati on and is with out effect if the st ar is O bs erved at culminati on F or .

P ol aris at el ong ati on to p rod uc e an error of 0 0 1 in the c omp ut ed azimu th the ad opt ed l ati
,
.
”
.

tud e must b e in error by for a st ati oninl atitud e and by O 1 4 for a st ati onin l atitud e .

The error in the c ompu t ed azim uth from this s ource wil l b e l arg er for a st ar f arth er from
the p ol e The astronomic l atitud e ( d efined by the actual line of gravi ty at the st ati on) is
.

required for the c ompu t ati on and not the g eod etic l atit ud e
,
Thi s error whi ch wi ll in g eneral .
,

b e very sm all will al s o b e eliminat ed by obs erving the st ar at tw o p osi ti ons ab out twelve h ours
,

ap art .

The observer s errorsare his errors of p ointing up on the m ark and s t ar errors of p ointi ng
’
,

up on the circl e grad uati on if readi ng m i crosc op es are us ed errors ofverni er read ing if verni ers ,

are us ed errors O f reading the micromet er h eads errors in reading the striding l evel and errors
, , ,

in estimating the tim es of the st ar p ointi ngs Th ere is s uch a l arg e rang e O f diff erence in the
.

d esigns O f the vari ous ins trum ents us ed for az im uth obs ervati ons th at littl e can b e s aid of the
rel ative and abs olu t e m ag nitud e of th es e errors th a t will b e of g eneral applic ation E ach .

obs erver sh ould investig at e th es e errors for hims elf wi th the p articul ar inst ru ment in h and It .

will b e f ou nd in g eneral th at the O bs erver s errors pl ay a minor p art in f urnishing the final
’

errors O f the res ults exc ep t p erh aps in the mi crometric m eth od
,
.

The eff ect of errors in t im e ei th er errors in estimating the tim es of the st ar p ointings the
, ,

p ers onal equ ati on O f the obs erver or errors in the ad op ted chronomet er c orrecti on may b e
, ,

estimat ed by noti ng the rat e at whi ch the st ar w as m oving in azimu th wh en the O bs ervati on s
w ere m ad e Su ch errors are usu ally s mall b ut not ins ensibl e exc ep t near elong ation and Will
. , ,

t end to b e eliminat ed by O bs ervati ons of the s ame st ar at tw o h our angl es diff eri ng by abou t -

tw el ve h ours .
 U . S. COA ST AND G EODE T IC , V
SU R E Y SPECIA L P U BLICA TION N O . 1 4.

O fthe m agni tud e ofthe instrumental errors arisi ng f romi mp erf ect adj ust ment andimp erf ect
c onstruction and imp erf ect st ability lit tl e of g eneral applic ati on can b e s aid b ec aus e of the ,

great variety of the inst rum ents

With th
.

e l arg er and m ore p ow erf ul instrum ents the errors due to inst ab ility b ec ome rel a
tively great and sh ould b e gu ard ed ag ainst by c areful manip ul ati on and rapid O bs erving by ,

using a c arefully pl anned p rogram O f O bs ervat ions and by p rot ect ing the i nstru ment ag ainst
-

temp erat ure ch anges as far as p ossib le In this c onnecti on it sh ould b e noted th at each O f the
.

p rograms of obs ervation given on the p rec eding p ag es is esp eci all y ad ap t ed to elimination O f
the eff ect of any c ont inuous twis ting O f the ins trum ent i n azim uth and is so pl anned th at the ,

obs erver w ill not ordinarily l os e t ime in w aiting for the b ubbl e O f the stri di ng l evel to c om e to
rest. Th at O bs erver O f azim uth w ill b e mos t s ucc essful in avoidi ng errors due to inst abili ty
Who keeps it most cl early and c ontinu ously in mind th at the instrument and its s upp ort are
m ad e O f el astic mat eri al O f s uch a l arg e c oeffici ent O f th ermal exp ansion th at no p art remains
O f fix ed d imensi ons or sh ap e He will b e esp eci ally c aref ul ab ou t the th ermal c onditi ons and
.

the s tress es to whi ch his inst rument is s ubj ec ted and will O bs erve w i th the g reat est rapidity
c onsis t ent with all ow abl e O bs erver s errors
’
.

The errors due to the s tridi ng l evel b ec ome m ore s eri ous the f arth er north is the st ation as ,

mayb e s een by insp ecti on of the f ormul a for the l evel c orrecti on (p .

The errors of grad uati on ofthe h oriz ont al circl e h ave the s ame eff ect i nazimuth O bs erva
ti ons as in O bs ervati ons O f h oriz ont al angl es The numb er ofp osit i ons in which the c ircl e must
.
-

be u sed in the d irecti on meth od may th eref ore b e d ecid ed up on the s ame b asis as in the angle
m eas urements .

The micrometric m eth od gi ves a high er d egree of accuracy th an eith er the method of
rep eti ti ons or the m eth od O f d irections This is p rob ably due l arg ely to the great rap idity wi th
.

w hich the O bs ervati ons may b e mad e a c onditi on which is very f avorabl e to the el imi nati on of
,

errors due to inst abili ty of the i n strument and its s upp ort The error in the fi nal res ult for a
.
,

s t ati on by this meth od due to an error in the ad opt ed val ue ofone t urn O f the microm et er may
,

b e mad e very s mall by so pl acing the az imuth mark ( or marks ) and so tim ing the O bs ervati ons
th at the sum of the angl es m eas ured eastw ard f rom the m ark ( or m arks ) to the st ar sh al l b e

nearly eq ual to the sum O f s uch angles meas ured w estw ard .

T A T EME N T
S OF CO ST S
.

Wh en azimuths are O bs erved with a th eod olit e d uring the p rogress of a t ri angul ation the
cost is very s mall Thi s is the m eth od now employ ed in the p ri mary t ri angul ati on by the Coast
.

and G eod etic Survey I t is p rob abl e th at the O bs ervati ons and field c omp ut ati ons for an
.

azimuth do not invol ve an addi ti onal c ost of m ore th an $50 per azim uth st ati on .

I f h ow ever the azimuths are O bserved by a s ep arat e p arty s ome t ime l at er than the tri
, ,

angul ati on and wh en th ere is m ore or l ess b u

,
i lding of signals at the st ati ons at each end ofthe
line for whi ch the azi muth is d et ermined the c ost per st ati on will vary d uri ng a s eas on s O p era
’

W
,

ti ons f rom $2 00 to $500 h en an obs erver must go out in the fi eld to d et ermine a s ingle
.

azim uth at a dist ant p oint the exp ens e may b e more th an $500
’
A s eas on s w ork sh ould b e .

pl anned so th at the c ost and ti me of t raveling b etw een st ati ons will b e a minimu m I f prac .

ticab le the w ork in anyl oc ality sh ould b e d one at th at ti me O f the y ear wh en the m ost f avorabl e
,

weath er c onditi ons may b e exp ect ed .

A Z IMU T H FROM T IME O B SE R V A T I O N S .

F or a numb er of y ears azimuths of a s ec ond ary d egree of accuracy for use in c onnecti on
with t erti ary t ri angul ati on in Al ask a h ave b een obt ained di rectly from ti me O bs ervati ons with
a t ransit or meridi an t el esc op e with littl e additi onal lab O r of O bs erving and c omp uti ng
,
With .

the ad opti on O f the t ransit mic romet er the accu racy O f the res ults w as greatly inc reas ed ,

app roaching p ri mary in ch aract er T his meth od O f d et ermi ning azimuths has p roved O f great
.

val ue In h i gh l atitu d es wh ere sl ow moving st ars are high in altitud e and c ons equ ently s ati s
-

, , ,

f act ory azimuths f rom obs ervati ons with a th eod olit e are difficult to obt ain .
 U . S . COA ST AND GEODE T IC SU R VEY SPECIAL PU BLICA T ION N O . 14
.

The foll owi ng ex amples with expl anationswill show this meth od of d et erm ining azi muth
Example o
f record—
R eadings on azi muthmark .

T R AN SIT MIC R O ME T E R .

( Stati on F ai rb ank s A l aska

, , . D at e, A ug. 9, 1 9 1 0 . Obs v E Smi th I n trumnt Tran i t N o 1 8 wi h tran i t mi
er er, . . s e : s .
,
t s crometer Mark tonorthwardJ
.

Befor b i
o ser vat ons for t i m on
e
fi h lf
e

rst a set -

Ban d Wt es

Computation of azimuthfromtime observations .

T R ANSI T MI C R O ME T E R .

( F i bank A l k
ar s, as a, 1 9 1 0 . Tran i t N o 1 8
s . . E q u to i l i nt v l ofon tu nofmi rom t
a ra er a e r c e er, Mark to northward ]

Augu t 8 s .
Augu t 8 s

Ban d

M ean azimuth ofmark east ofnorth ,

1
’

C orrection for el evation ofmark ,

R eduction to mean position ofpol e l , +O S . .

A z imuth ofmark 1 80 0 1 ’ ,
°

The c omb sh ould b e c onsid ered as b ei ng numb ered f rom one sid e to the oth er and in s uch a
way th at the numb ers i nc rease wi th i ncreasing numb ers on the mic romet er h ead as the wire
is m oved across the fi eld F or c onveni enc e the fi rst t ooth may b e gi ven the numb er 1 rath er
.

th an z ero The obs erver in the fi eld must not e in the rec ord for one p ositi on of the t el esc op e
.
‘

( b and west or east ) wh eth er the line ofsight p oi nts f arth er east or w est with increas ing readings
on the mic romet er h ead .

In the ex ampl e ab ove, wi th b and east , the readings i nc reas e on the microm et er h ead as the
li ne ofsight moves t ow ard the east Th at is , for the reading offive tu rns , b and east , the line
W
.

of sight is ab out tw o t urns east of the c ollimati on ax is ith b and w est increasing read ings .

c orresp ond to a m oti on ofthe li ne ofsight t ow ard the w est , a reading of one turn, b and w est ,
c orresp ondi ng to a p osti on ofthe l ine ofsight ofab out tw o tu rns east ofthe c ollim ati on axis .

A set ofazi muth obs ervati ons w as m ad e with each oftw o ti me s ets on A ug ust 8 .

I See A strono mi sch e Nach ri ch tenN o 4504 . .

 DE TE R M I NA T ION or AZI M U T H . 1 63

Computation of azimuthfrom time observations .

D IA PH R AG M .

[st . Mich ael A lask a

, , 1 898 . Meridian tel escope N o . 13 . q i l i nt
E uator a l
erva ofone s ace orretlcle. p Mark tosouthw ard ]

J uly 1 4 J uly 1 5
Cl amp Wt
es Wst
e

A ngl mark to c nt rli ne

M anofE and W
e, e e

( Angle mark to coll imati onaxis)

e

a ( fromti m t) se
A ngl mark to m ridian
e
e
Mean forset ( in ti me)
e,

Meanforset ( inarc) +3 . 3

Jul y 1 8 Se t 1 3p . p
Se t 1 7 .

Clamp Wst
e Wst
e Wst
e

p
S aces Spaces S aces p
Angl mark tocent rline
9
4 3 8
0 00 = + 0 25 +0 86 + 0 825 m + 2 85
Meanot E and W
e, e . .
: . . .

( A ngl mark to coll imati on axis)

romti m
e
a(f t) se — 2 01
Angl mark to rrf rldia n
e .

e, e -
0. 1 5
Meanforset ( intime) +0 14
Meanforset ( inare) 1

F i nal mean mark east ofsouth

, ,
0
°
00’
C orrection for elevati on ofmark
A i muth ofmark
z 359
°
59’

Th ere is no ess enti al d ifferenc e b etw eenthe ab ove m eth od and th at with the t ransit microm
et er . The angl e b etw een the m ark and the c ent er line of the di ap hragm is estim ated in sp ac es
of the reticl e The accu racy of the resulting azim uth in this c as e as w ell as in th at of the
.

t ransit mic rom et er d ep ends l arg ely on the accuracy with whi ch the azimuth c ons tant is d eter
mined f rom the tim e obs ervations The eff ect of errors of p ointing and reading on the m ark
.

may b e m ad e rel atively s mall by rep eat ed obs ervations .

The w ork of the L atitud e Servic e of the I nt ernational G eod etic Ass oci ation beg an in 1 899 ,

so it is only f or obs ervati ons m ad e aft er th at y ear th at a s atisf act ory red uc ti on cannow b e mad e
to the m ean p osi ti on of the p ol e I t is p rob abl e th at in a few years a reli abl e valu e of this
.

redu ction can b e had b as ed on th eoretic al g rounds,

.

Computation of azi muthfrom time observations .

D I APH R AG M .

Ist Mich ael A l aska 1 898 Mridian t l s ope No 1 3 R adi ngs onmark inonly on po i tionof t l cop axi
ee c e s e s E q uato ial i nt
r erva l of on
p il Mark tosouthw d)
.
, , . e . . e e es . e
s ace ofret c e, ar .

J uly 13 J uly 1 4
Cl amp

M ark east ofcenter l i ne

E q i nterval ofcenter l i ne
.

0
a
Mark east ofsouth
M ark ea t ofsouth s
 U . S
. COA ST AND GEO D E T IC SU R VE Y SP E CIAL P U BLICA T ION N O . 14
.

The ab ove is t ak enf rom the ex a mpl e al ready givenfor obs ervations in b oth p ositions ofthe
tel esc op e .In this c as e of d eriving the az imuth f rom obs ervations on the m ark in onl y one
p osition of the axis , the equ at orial interval of the assum ed z ero and the c oll imation const ant of
the tim e set must b e appli ed to the read ing on the m ark The c ollim ation c onst ant is appli ed .

with the s ame sign as d eri ved from the c omp ut ati on of the ti me set wh en the obs ervations on
the m ark are m ad e wi th b and w est m ark s outh and with the O pp osit e sign wh en m ad e with
, ,

b and east m ark s outh The equat ori al int erval i ofthe assum ed z ero ofthe reticl e or microm
,
.
, ,

et er is c onsid ered p osi ti ve wh en w est of the m ean l ine or p ositi on b and w est I t f oll ows th en , .
, ,

th at wh en i and c are c ombined in the az im uth angl e th ey are appli ed with opp osit e signs .

D efining the m easured angl e b etw een the m ark andthe ass um ed Z ero as p ositive wh en the m ark
is east ofthe z ero p ointing s outh andusing a c andi with thei r c onventional signs the f oll ow
, , , , , ,

ing g eneral exp ressions c over all c as es :

a = 3 60
°
— i) sec h} 1 5
a = 3 60
° -

c+ i ) sec h} 1 5

a = 1 80
°
— c+ i ) sec h} 1 5

a = °
1 80 — {
aE -

+( M+ c— i ) sec h} 1 5

aW and aE are the az im uth c ons tants from the time set M is the angl e (in s econds of time) .

b etw een the m ark and the ass umed z ero of the micromet er or di aphragm I t is as sum ed to .

b e p osi ti ve wh en the m ark is east of the z ero wh en p ointing s ou th I t is als o p ositive wh en .

‘
the m ark is w est p oint ing north 0 is the c oll im ation c onst ant ofthe tim e set
,
. i is the eq uato .

ri al int erval in s ec onds of tim e b etw een the m ean p osition of the micromet er wire and the
, ,

assu med z ero of the mic rom et er or b etween the mean line of the reticl e and the ass um ed zero
‘

.
,

h is the angl e ofel evation or d ep res sionoft e m ark

h T e q uantity to b e sub tract ed from 3 60
h °
.

or 1 80 is in s econds of arc
°
.

C O RRE C T I O N FOR E LE V A T I ON OF M AR K .

Wh n the us ed as an azimuth mark is at a consid erabl e el evation it is nec ess ary to

e obj ect ,

apply a c orrection to obt ainthe ast ronomic az im uth of the p roj ecti on of the m ark on the eph a
roidal su rf ac e ofref erenc e This correction, in s ec onds .
,

in which is the square of the ecc entricity and a the s emi maj or axis of the sph eroid ofrefer
e
2 -

enc e ; 915 is the l atit ud e of the obs erving st ation; a is the azimuth of the line to the m ark ; and

h i s the el evation of the mark F or it in m et ers and C l ark e s 1 866 dimensions of the sph eroid
’
.
, ,

as s t at ed 11 1 m et ers this exp ressi on b ec om es

,

+0 . 000 1 09 h 0 0 5 2 gb sin 2 a , or
h cos2 <1) sin 2 a ,

wh ere the numb er i nb rac k ets is a l og arith m the d ash over the ch aract eristic ind ic ating th at ,

1 0 is to b e subst ract ed from it The s ignofthe exp ression shows th at wh en the mark is eith er
.

s outhw est or north east of the obs erving s t ation the obs erved azimu th of the m ark must b e
increas ed to obt ain the c orrect azimuth whil e for mark northw es t or s outh east the obs erved , ,

azim uth m ust b e d ec reas ed .

CO RRE C T I O N FOR V A RI A T I O N OF T HE P O L E .

A c orrection is necess ary to red uc e the ob served astronomic az imuth to the m ean p osition
of the p ol e This c orrection may amount to a half s econd or m ore for points in the north ern
.
-

p art of the U nit ed St at es The s ec ant of the latiude is a f ac tor of the c orrection so the valu e
.
,

b ec omes l arg er for the high er l atitud es (See p . .

U . S
. COA ST AN D GEO D E T IC SU R VEY SPECIAL P U BLICA T ION NO . 14 .

Proportional part s

—
o_
DE T E R M INA TION OF AZI M U T H . 1 67i
 U . S; CO A ST A N D GEO D E T IC U VEY
S R PECIAL PU BLICA T ION N O
S . 14 .

Proportional parts

7 50 n
. 9 998629
DE T E R M INA TION OF AZ I M U T H . 1 71
U . S
. COA ST AND G EODE TIC SU R VEY SPECIA L PUBLICA T ION N O . 14 .

13
 IN D E X .

A ddi tions top revi ou edi ti on s Ch onom t ompa i onby oin id n ofb at
r e ers, c rs c c e ce e s

A dj u tm nt and d crip tionofthe transi t microm t r Ch onom t i m thod ofd t rmini ng l ongi tud
.

r e rc e ee e
es e e
Combin ti onof ul t
s e
A dj u tm nt and d escrip tion i th v rti cal ci rcl
s e O e e e a res s

A dj ustm nts d irectionm thod ofd termining az imuth

e e e C omp ut tionof a

A dj u tmnts i th transi t
,

Di u ionof or
sc ss err s

Cl o i ng or inlongi tud b tw n K y W t and A tl nt on

s e O e
s err e e ee e es a a, c r
p utation I O

C olli m ti onadj u tmnt oft an it

a s e r s
C olli m tion xi oft n i t
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

a a s ra s
C olli mati on o tioninti m omp utation
.
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

c rrec ec
C oll i m tionoft n i t lin of
a ra s e

C ombinati on of l ti tud r ul t ah p air ob v d mor than

,

Verticali ty fmicrom terwire O e

a e es s, e c ser e e

Wind
Wir il l umination
e
C ombi n tion ofl a i tud r ult wh n a h p air i ob rved b ut
a t e s
e s, e e c s se

A dj ustm nts z ni th t l op i the sc

ee e
C omp ari onof h onom t r by oi n id n ofb t
e O e

App a tu for d t rminin

ra g l ongi tud by t l graphi m thod s c r e e s c c e ce ea s

C ompl t l a t q u m th od omp utati onofti m t by

s e e e ee c e

arr ng m nt of
,
ee e s s are e c e se
a e e
Cont t o ti onfo t n i t mi romt r
,

App ar nt pl a fo l a i tud wo k comp utationof

star t
ac c rrec r ra s c ee
e

Artifi ial ho izon

ces r e r ,
C o tionfo
rrec r:
A zi muth inti m omp utation
c r
A zimuth ec

A dj u tm nt oftran it fo C olli m ti onin ti m omp ut tion

a ec a
s e
Cor tionfor l vationoi m k in omp u tionof
s r
C u vatu inazi muth omp uta ion
r re c t
r ec ee

Co tionfor vari ationofth pol in omputationof

ar c ta .

C urv u of pp nt p th of t in omp utationofmi rom

at re a are a s ar c c e
t rval u
rrec e e c
Corr tionintim
ec e
e e

Diff ntial f a tionin l ti ud omp ut tion

tionin omp utati onof
ere re r c a t ec a
'

Curva u o t re c rrec
D ir ti onm thod adj u tmnt
c
Di urnal ab ti onin omp utati onofti m
erra c e
E l v ti on ofm k in zi muth omp utati on
ec e s e s

D ir tionm thod omputationof

,
e a ar a c
In l i nati onof xi oft an i t inti m omp utati on
ec e c
D ir ionm h od xpl n ti on of put tion
,

o d and om
c a s r s ec

In q u li ty oi pi vot oft n i t in ti m omp utati on

ect et e a a rec r c a
Di u ion of or
,
e a s ra s ec
R t inti m om p utati on
sc ss err s
E x mpl of o d nd omp u ti on di tion m th od
ae ec

F omtm
a e
i ob va ion
rec r a c ta , rec e
Vari ati onofth p ol in zi muth omp ut ti on
e e a c a
V iati onofth p ol inl i tud omp ut tion
r ser t
o o o
e s
o o o o o o o o o o o o o

F omtim ob vation wh n no ran i t mi rom t i u d

r e ser s e t s c e er s se
ar e
V a i ati onofth p ol in l ongi tud omp utation
e at ec a

omp ut ti onof
,

r e e ec
c a
F omtim ob rvation wi th th tran i t mi om t omp uta Co t ofazi muth d t mination t t mnt of
s e er s, s a e e
r
ti onof
e se s e s cr e er, c
C o of tabli hing l ti tud t ti on
st es s a es a

F omtm i b vation wi h th tran i t mi om t x mple C o t ofl ongi tud d t min ti on t t m nt of

s e e er a s, s a e e
r
od
eO ser s t e s cr e er, e a
C uv tu o ti onin zi mu h omp utation
r a re c rrec a t c
of rec r
G n l on id ration C uv tu of pp nt p ath of t in omp ut tion ofmi rom t r
r a re a are s ar c a c ee
e era c s e s.
val u o
e, c rrect ionfo r

In rum nt h l t rfor
st e s e e
D iv ti onof( r ) in ti m omp ut ti on
t —t
a a
m nt uppo t
er ec
, . .

In tru
Mk
s e s r
D ifi nti l
crc f a ti onin l ti tud omp ut ti on o ti on fo
a re r c a ec a c rrec r
Di ff nti al fra ti on in l ati tud omp utati on t bl of o
,
ar
M hod of p ti ion omp utationof
ere re c e c , a e c rrec
et re e t s, c

Mthod i p tition xampl of o d and ompu tion

e O re e s, e e rec r c ta
Di tionm thod fo d t mini ng az imuth
rec r e er
Mth od of p ti ti on xpl n ionof o d nd omp uta ion
e
. .

e re e s, e a at rec r a c t
Mthod ofd t rmining a t onomi
.

e s e e s r c
Comp uta ionof t
Mi rom t i m thod x mpl of o d and omp utation
.

c e rc e e a e rec r c
Ex m a pl of o d nd omp ut tion
rec r a a
Mi rom t i m thod xpl anationof o d and omp ut ti on
,
e c
c e rc e e rec r c a E xpl n tionof
a a o d nd omp utati on rec r a
Ob vation m d in onn tion wi th triangul tion
, .
c
ser s a e c ec a Di tion fo ob rving l itud
rec s r se at e
Di u n l ab a i onin omp ut tionofti m o tionfo
r a err t c a e, c rrec r
Di u n l b tion in omp ut tion of ti m t bl of o tion
r a a erra c a e, a e c rrec s
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

m
E cono i cs of ati tu l ion d obe servat s
E l tri l onn tion f o h onograph
Book s ofreference ec ca c ec s rc r
E l vati onofm k o r ti onto azi muth for
5
e ar c r ec
C ap tabl d u tionm anto appar nt d clination wi th E q uato i al int rval oft n i d t m inati onof
.
,

e es, re c e e e s 1 11 r e s ra s t, e er
C a of h onom t
re c r e ers. 95 E rror in zi muth di u i onof
s a sc ss
Ch onograph E or inl i tud di u i on
,

r 11 rr s at e, sc ss
Chronograph l tri al onn tion for
e ec c c ec s 12 E rro in l ongi tud
rs e:
Chronog pb i ob rvati on for tim tabl of w ig h t for in om By hronom t i m th od di u ionoi
, .

ra c se s e, e e s c c e rc e sc ss
tr n i t Wh nk yand hronograph ar u d di u ionof
, . .

pl
ete a s s e e c e se sc ss
Chronog ph u of Wh nt an i t mi om t ri u d di u i onof
,

ra se e r s cr e e s se sc ss
Chronom o ction and rat in l on i tud d t rmination E rror inti m d t rm i na i on
, , 0 .

eter c rre s es g e ee s s e e e t s
wi th th tran i t mi om t r
e s cr e e Di u ionof
sc ss
C hronom t ar of
e ers, c e .
1 76 U . S . COA ST AND GEO D E T IC U VEY
S R S PECIA L PU BL ICA T ION N O . 14 .

E rrorsinti me d eterminations— Continued g

Pa e Longi tud e d — Cont nue i
Computationof l o i ng or b tw nK y W t nd A tl anta
. .
.

48 c s err e ee e es a

Computationofd iff r n wh n tran i t mi rom t i u d

.

50 e e ce, e s c e er s se

Corr ti onforvariationofth pol

.

Ex h ng
c a ignal =t l graphi m thod 1 d t rmi ni ng l ongi tud
e01 s s e e c e e e e, ec e e

D t rmination omputation wh n no tran i t mi om t i

0
ee , c e s cr e er s

E y nd ar m th od ofob rving ti m di r ti on o ec sf r
se
D t rminati on programwh nno tran i t mi rom t i u d
ea e e e, .

E y and arob rv ti on ror ti m tabl ofw igh t for in ompl t s c ee ee e s c e er s se

a e
D t rmin ti on tat mnt of o t
s e, e
.

e e se ,

ee a s e e c s
Di u ionof rr r in hronom tri m th od ofd t mi ning
.

E y pi oft n i t fo u ing of sc ss e os c e c e e er
ece ra s c s
Di u i onof o wh nk yand hronograph u d
e ,
sc ss err r
s e e c are se

Find ir l adj u tmnt oft an i t

erc c e s e r s Di u i onof o wh n tran i t mi omt i u d
sc ss err rs e s cr e er s se
In tru ti on fo u ofth transi t mi om t in high l ti tud
.

Fo u ing of y pi oftran i t
c s e e ece s s c s r se e cr e er a es

F o u ing ofobj tiv oftran it

c s ec e s
In tru tion fo th u ofth tran i t m
s c s i rom t r in low lati
r e se e s c ee
H orizontal axi oftran i t dj u tm nt of
s s , a s e
tud f r d t rmining
es o ee
M h od of p ra ion wh n tran i t mi rom t i u d
et e t s e s c e er s se
“
O

Inclinationoi axis oftransi t inti me comp utation correcti on for Programand appa tu ofth t l graphi mthod ra s e ee c e

R ord of x hang of ignal t l graphi m th od ofd t rm in

.
,
ec e c e s s, ee c e ee

h
Inc rono ra g phi ob rv ti on fortim t bl ofw igh t for
c se a s e, a e e s .

Ine y and rob va i on fo ti m tabl ofw igh t fo

e ea ser t s r e, e e s r
Wigh ts a ign d to parate hronom t r in hronom tri
e ss e se c e es c e c

m th od ofd t rmining
e ee

Mark fora imuth ob rvati on

Ineq uali ty oi pi vots oftransi t in time computation correctionfor
z se s
,
.

M ridiant l op d rip i onof esc t

Ine q uali y oi pi vot oi tran i t d t rminationof
t s s ee
e e esc e,
Mth od ofop ration ford t rmining l ongi tud transi t mi rom t r
me u tion io d te rmi ning l ongi ud with th t n i t mi om t
,
e e s ee e c e e
tr c s r e t e e ra s cr e er
m th od
e

M th od ofd t rmining a tronomi azi muth

In t u ti on ford te rmining l ongi tud wi h th tran i t mi om t
e s ee s c
sr c s e e t e s cr e er
Mth ods ofd t rmi ning l ati tud ee e
inlow lati tud
e
es
Mi rom t rand l v l valu d terminationof e e s
e e
In tru ti on orl titud w o k g n ral
c ee

Mi rom t r transi t
,
s c st a e r e e
,
c e e

Micromt rvalu froml atitud ob rvation d et rminati onof

,

Key m thod of ob rving ti m omp utati on of tran i t ob o

ee e e se s, e

Mi rom t r val u fromob rvati on on a l o ir umpolar tar

e se e, c s s r
c ee e se s c se c c s

omputati on of
,

K eym th od ofob rving tim di r ti on f

c
Mi rom t rw ir oftran it t t ofv rti ali ty or
e se or e, ec s
c ee e s s
e e c

Mi rom tri m thod of d t rmining azimuth xampl of r ord

,

Lati tud e: c e c e ee ,
e e ec

Combi nationofr ul t a h p irob rv d mor th anon

es s, e c a se e e ce 1 19
Combinati on 1 r ul t wh n a h p i ri obmv d but on
es s e e c a s r e ce 1 24 Mi rom tri m th od of d t rmining azi muth xplanation ofr
c e c e ee e ec

p utati on
0 ,

112 ord and om c

Comp uta ionofappar nt tarpl ac s

t e 1 16
Not s on omputati onofl ati tud g n ral
e
Computation oi val u mi rom t r from ob vation on e 3: c ee ser s e c e, e e .

a lo i umpol tar
c
ec
e c rc
s
Corr ti onfo u va ur oi appar nt p ath of rin omp ut
rc r
ars
t e e sta c a Obj ti v oftran i t fo u ing
ec e s c s
Obs rvatori and ob rving t nt
,

ti onofm i om rval u cr ete e e es se e s

Corr tionfordifi r ntial r f a ti on

ec ee e rc
Ob rving for d t minationofti m d ir ti on for
se e er e, ec s

Co t of tabli hing t tion sa

Ob rving li t for d t rminationofti m
se s ee e

rving li t ( form1 ) f or l ati tud

s es s
D t rminationofl v l andmi om t val u cr e er es O bm s e
ee
Obs rving li t ( form for l ati tud
e e .

D t rminationofmi rom t rval u f omobw vation oi

ee c ee e r r s e s e

Di r tion fo ob rving
ec s r se
Parall ax tabl of un ’

Di u i onof or
sc ss err s
P r onal q uation in ti m d t mination
,
e s s

E onomi ofob rv tion for

es e e e er
P r onal q uati onintim d t rmination tabl ofr a l ti v
.

c cs se a s

E xampl ofr o d and omp utati on

es e e e e e e e

Pi vot i n q uali tyoftran it d t rminati on of

,
e ec r c

E xpl anati on of omp ut tion

e s ee

i ting lin
,
c a
Pon
F roma ingl p air w igh t to b ign d to m an
s e e e ass e e
es
Pol variati on in azi muth omputation orr ction for
Gen ral i n ru tion fo d t rmini ng
,
e c c e
Pol vari ati on in lati tud omputati on orr tion for
,
e st c s r ee
c ec
G n ral not on omputationof
e ec
Pol variation in l ongi tud omputation corr tion for
,
e e es c ec
Mth od ofd t rmi ning
e ec
Primary azi muth
,
e s ee

Ob ving li t ( fo m1 )
ser s r
Ob rving li t ( fo m2)
se s r R at orr ct i on in ti m omp utation
ec e ec
R d u ti on fo vari ti on ofpol
e c r a e R ord and om
ec p utati on c :

R du tion mantoapp ar nt d linati on wi h C p t bl

e c e e ec s t a e a es Dir ti onm thod ofd t rmining azimuth xampl of
ec e e e e e
R d u ti on to a l v l F or d t rm i nati onofti m xampl of
.

e c se e e e e e, e e

R d u ti ont
e o th m ridian
c e e Mi rom tri m thod ofd t rmining azi muth xampl of
c e c e ee e e

O i lati tud d t rminati on

.

Summa y of omp utati on

,

r c e arnpl oi
e e ex e

T bl fo r d u ionto a l v l 0 ! ti m by th ond m th od xampl or

,

a e r e ct se e e e e sec e e e

Tabl of orr tion fo difi r ntial r fra tion R p ti ti on m th od ofd termn i i ng azi muth xampl of
,

e c ec s r ee e c e e e e e e

Tabl of orr tion fo r d u tionto th m idian R ord azi muth fromti m ob s rvation wi th th tran i t mi rom
,

e c ec s r e c e er ec e e s e s c e

Lev l and mi rom t rv l u d t mn i ationof t r xampl of

,

e c ee a es, e er e e e

R ord ofob rvato i n on tar wi th th v rti al ir l ford t rmi

,

ec se s s s e e c c ce ee

L in i nt val fortran i t N o 1 8 tabl of nati onoi ti m

'

e er s s e e

Lin of ollimationoftranit R ecord ofob rvation onth un wi th th v rti al ir l ford t r

.
,

e c s se s es e e c c ce e e

Longi tud e: minati onofti m e

Arrang mnt ofapparatus t l graphi m th od ofd t rmini ng
e e ee c e e e R d u tionmanto appar nt d clination wi th Cap tabl es
e c e e e s e
R d u ti on to th m ridia ninl ati tud omp utati on
,

e c e e ec

Chronom t orr tion and rat ind t minati onof R d u tionto th m ri di aninl at tud omp utati on tabl of o
.

e er c ec s es, e er e c e e i ec e c rrec
Chronom tri m thod omputati onof ti on
,

e c e c s for
Combinati onofta ni t by hronom t i R f r n books
.
,

e e c e rc e e e ce

Combinati onofr mt wh nnotran it mi rom t ri u d

es s e s c ee s se .