Johannes Hevelius represents star positions as "Gr. Min. Sec" in his
published star catalog, although his handwritten observing log of positions
uses the degree symbol, ' and "; both works are from about 1680. This would
indicate that "G" stands for degree.
I think that I have seen similar notation in tables for surveying and/or
the equation of time of about the same date, but I can't easily access the
documents at the moment to verify this.
Note that "degree" is derived from the Latin "gradus."
Gordon
At 07:25 PM 10/6/01 +0100, you wrote:
Hi all
I've seen several 16th and early 17th century English dials where the
latitude has been marked, for example:
51G 30M
often with the G and M above their respective figures.
Can someone tell me, please, what the G stands for? The only angular G I
know is the grad, or 1/100th of a right angle. This is clearly not what
is meant in these cases, as 51D(egrees) 30M(minutes) is meant to represent
London. Or did grad mean something different in Tudor and Stuart times?
Regards,
John Davis
----------------------
Gordon Uber [EMAIL PROTECTED] San Diego, California USA
Webmaster: Clocks and Time: http://www.ubr.com/clocks
