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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1723 edition. Excerpt: ...the Horizon, and consequently the South Pole be elevated on the contrary Side, the Latitude is South. And the fame Consequences win foiled, if the distance of the Sun or Star be counted from the South Pole; and if instead of laying off the Polar Distance towards the R ight-hand it be laid off towards the Left-hand. From a GeneralView of the several Figures, the intelligent Reader will easily perceive that there may be other Methods deduced for finding whether the Latitude be North or South, but these are the readiest for Practice; and indeed this way of pronouncing the Denomination of Latitude is so very natural and eaiy, that after the Practitioner has been a little accustomed to it, he will readily form a just Idea of it in his Mind, and determine which way the Latitude is, without being at the Expence of drawing a figure The last Method of determining the Latitudes of Places, by the Meridional Heights of the Sun or Stars, observed above and below the Pole, but more particularly by the Stars, is vastly preferable to any Method that I know of; inasmuch as it requires no Theory of the Sun to be known or given, nor no Declination of the Stars deduced from Calculation, grounded upon Observation first, but only the simple Alritudes taken by Observation with a good Quadrant and proper Allowances to be made for the Refraction, and how that is to be accounted for will be shewn in the Sequel of this Section And if the Latitude of the Plaee be considerable, even this alone will in a manner vanish, as will appear hereafter j and it has this farther Advantage, that if the Stars observed lye near the Pole, the Altitudes increase and decrease so slowly, that if they are taken at some small distance from the Meridian, the Error will be...

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