Is it possible to figure out your longitude using time and the stars?

[Colt_0pz]

I know it is possible to figure out your latitude using the stars but is it possible to figure out your longitude using time and the stars?

[dalekphalm]

1 hour ago, Colt_0pz said:

I know it is possible to figure out your latitude using the stars but is it possible to figure out your longitude using time and the stars?

It should be possible, yes, but keep in mind that "the time" is incredibly imprecise, longitudinally. That's because entire countries or collections of countries often share the same timezone. Roughly speaking, a timezone is 15 degrees longitude wide - which works out to anywhere from 1000 km to over 1600 km wide (depends on how far north you are).

 

So as you can see, that can present some challenges for calculating precise longitude. You could get a very rough calculation, I'd assume. I wouldn't know what formula you'd have to use though.