[Hail Mary Shelley home page]
[Frankenstein questions]
On July 31st Walton reports the sun set. That is, as soon as
it was light (August 1st), he went on deck.
Question 1: How far north had Walton gone?
Archangel is 64o 34' North
At 70o 59' North the sun set at 11:53 p.m.
on July 31, 1797.
(this is assuming the same longitude of 40o
32'East)
At 70o 59' North the sun rose at 12:56 a.m. on August 1, 1797.
A degree of latitude equals 69.4 miles near the poles.
This U.S. Naval Observatory link takes you to a site that
will
compute the sunrise and sunset for any latitude for any
date.
Sun or Moon Rise/Set Table for One Year
If the sun set at seven minutes to
midnight the night the man
was rescued from the ice, Walton had progressed in a
northerly
direction 446 miles. If he began his voyage on the first
of June,
his rate of progress north was 8.3 miles per day.
Question 2: How much further north did Walton have to
go to
reach the north pole? How much further north did Walton
have
to go to find a passage to India?
If Walton considered Civil Twilight to be light, he could
not have
gone further north than 650
40' north, or a distance of about 76
miles. If Walton left Archangel on the first of June,
where the sun
is continuoulsy above the Civil Twilight from about May
17 to
July 26, he would have progressed in a northerly direction
at a
rate of one and one quarter mile per day. At this rate,
he would
not reach the Arctic Circle for another 55 days and would
reach
the pole for more than 3 1/2
years.
There may be some explanation for the poor showing of
progress.
Perhaps Walton's departure was delayed.
This link will be useful. Arctic Map
The way to India to the east
requires navigating the passage
from the Kara Sea to the Laptev Sea, which is approximately
350 miles further north than Walton's maximum north location
July 31st. If, however, the sun was below the Civil Twilight
limit
on July 31st at Walton's location, he was at least 1,666
miles
from the North Pole or more than 3 1/2
years away from that
goal.