Yesterday we on board ship experienced a geographic moment that we never will experience again in our lives. At my request, the captain agreed to change course very slightly (as we head from Ghana to Capetown, South Africa) in order to cross the equator at the same moment that we cross the Prime Meridian. Thus, for a split second we were on 0 degree latitude and 0 degree longitude (how cool is that)-- I was on the bridge with the captain and a videographer at that moment and I had the captain sound the horn at the precise moment so everyone on the ship would know. We had several hundred students on the back deck with another photographer who was holding a gps receiver. The Captain also agreed to sail down the prime meridian for about 15 minutes so people could straddle the two hemispheres on board the ship. About 10 minutes prior to this wonderful moment I went on the ship's PA system and gave a 4 minute talk on latitudes and longitudes. Everyone on board seemed to get into the moment and I had my Andy Warhol "15 minutes of fame".
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| "0-0" shown on the library's computer screen |
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With the Captain on the Bridge as we were crossing the Equator and Prime Meridian at the same time
Adam Seid, the Registrar, and Kathy Poole, the Ass't Dean, enjoying the "0-0" moment. |
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