*** CACHE IS NOT AT
THE LISTED COORDINATES ***
BACKGROUND:
Willebrord Snell (1580–1626), also known as Snell van
Royen or Snellius, was a Dutch astronomer and mathematician, most
famous for the law of refraction now known as Snell's Law.
Snell was born at Leiden. In 1613 he succeeded his father
Rudolph Snell as professor of mathematics in the University of
Leiden. In 1615 he planned and carried into practice a new method
of finding the radius of the earth, by determining the distance of
one point on its surface from the parallel of latitude of another,
by means of triangulation. His work Eratosthenes Batavus (or
"The Dutch Eratosthenes"), published in 1617, describes the method
and gives as the result his calculations between Alkmaar and Bergen
op Zoom — two towns separated by one degree of the meridian,
which he measured to be equal to 107.395 km (the actual distance,
determined by more modern methods, is approximately 111 km).
Snell was also a distinguished mathematician, producing a new
method for calculating Pi — the first such improvement since
ancient times. He discovered the law of refraction that is named
after him in 1621. The lunar crater Snellius was also named
in his honor.
In addition to the Eratosthenes Batavus, Snell published
Cyclometria sive de circuli dimensione (1621), and Tiphys
Batavus (1624). He also edited Coeli et siderum in eo
errantium observationes Hassiacae (1618), containing the
astronomical observations of Landgrave William IV of Hesse. A
trigonometry (Doctrina triangulorum) authored by Snell was
published a year after his death.
Marine navigation involves frequent use of Snellius
constructions. Navigators can obtain an accurate fix by determining
the relative angles between bearings to three known landmarks.
Meticulous care is critical; any mistake in the calculation may
have disastrous consequences, leaving the vessel stranded high and
dry.
THE CACHE:
I set out one recent afternoon to place a simple geocache
honoring the many accomplishments of Willebrord Snell. After
finding a nice hiding spot for the tiny container — but
before marking the coordinates — I walked away from the cache
site (and multitudinous muggles) on a bearing of 356°T at a
distance of 152 feet. Standing on this spot, I forgot all about the
nearby magnetic nano container while fiddling with my GPS unit and
observing the relative positions of other waypoints loaded into my
unit’s memory, taking copious notes all the while. I made the
following observations:
- GC1NCRR at 9.7°T
- GC24WFB at 35.9°T
- GC1W8WM at 116.1°T
Unfortunately, while messing around with my GPS unit in such a
frivolous manner, my batteries died just before I could mark the
coordinates of the nearby cache container (a recurring theme, I
assure you). Perhaps you can help me solve this mystery by using
the information I’ve provided to figure out where the cache
resides. Happy calculating!
