The prime meridian, at 0 degrees longitude, is the point from which all other measurements of longitude are taken. With a powerful navy, the British were well advanced in navigation and timekeeping and were using the most sophisticated devices available to reckon global position and time. was one of the most powerful and technologically advanced nations on Earth. The prime meridian was established in 1851 at a time when the U.K. Each time zone is measured as 15 degrees wide, and 360 divided by 15 is 24.Īll of these zones are numbered consecutively eastward from what is called the prime meridian, which is a line of longitude that runs directly through the British Royal Observatory in Greenwich, in the United Kingdom. The logic of dividing Earth into 24 zones is derived from the fact that the planet is a sphere, and like any sphere it can be divided into 360 equal sections, or 360 degrees. Today, with a number of significant modifications, we still use the 24-time-zone system originally proposed by Fleming. (Image credit: Getty Images/Bloomberg) (opens in new tab) People walking beneath clocks displaying global time zones in the Warsaw Stock Exchange building in Warsaw, Poland. The practicality of his system soon caught on, so that by 1900 most of the industrialized nations of the world had adopted it. Within each time zone, all clocks would be set to an average time that best represented where the sun was located in the sky. Accordingly, he proposed a system of 24 standard time zones that would span the circumference of the Earth. He wanted to make the railroad more efficient and avoid any complications resulting from the different schedules set by the different train stations, which set the time according to their local astronomical conditions, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Fleming was a Scottish engineer who helped design the Canadian railway system. The first system of time zones was proposed by Sir Sandford Fleming in 1876, according to an article in Globe and Mail (opens in new tab), a Canadian news publication. So, to allow people to experience daylight hours in roughly the same amount - that is, to experience a normal day from sunrise to sunset - time zones are in use around the world. The vessel is sailing westward in the southern Pacific Ocean after visiting Hawaii between September 12 and 15, where she visited Honolulu, Kona, Hilo, and Maui.But humans don't travel at such speeds (unless you are on the International Space Station), and when not traveling people generally stay in one place. Wednesday, September 21, marked a special occasion for guests and crew onboard as the Concordia-class cruise ship crossed the International Date Line. Now, she is on her way to warmer temperatures as she sails to Australia. Carnival Splendor on Transpacific SailingĬarnival Splendor recently concluded her season in Alaska on September 6, where she spent the summer sailing in colder climates from Seattle, showing guests everything the state has to offer. As the vessel crossed, the Carnival cruise ship skipped a full day, turning Wednesday to Friday. Nowadays, the tradition is still celebrated onboard cruise ships and cargo vessels when they cross the equator and the international date line.Īs Carnival Splendor crossed the international date line on Wednesday, September 21, guests onboard celebrated their special occasion. Sailors first created the line-crossing ceremony as a way to see if their shipmates were worth their salt on long voyages.
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