As one of the oldest scientific institutions in the United States, the US Naval Observatory has a rich and colourful history. This volume is, first and foremost, a story of the relations between space, time and navigation, from the rise of the chronometer in the United States to the Global Positioning System of satellites, for which the Naval Observatory provides the time to a billionth of a second per day. It is a story of the history of technology, in the form of telescopes, lenses, detectors, calculators, clocks and computers over 170 years. It describes how one scientific institution under government and military patronage has contributed, through all the vagaries of history, to almost two centuries of unparalleled progress in astronomy. Sky and Ocean Joined will appeal to historians of science, technology, scientific institutions and American science, as well as astronomers, meteorologists and physicists.

Though just a heartbeat away from the presidency, it was years into the modern era before America's vice presidents began to gain the respect the office deserved. There was probably no more obvious reflection of their insignificance than their living accommodations, not to mention ill-fitted security protocols that were reinvented each time a new vice president was elected. That all changed in 1974 when Congress authorized an official, temporary residence for the vice president of the United States -- the stately, Queen Anne-style mansion built in 1893, and perched ever so slightly on a hilltop on the grounds of the US Naval Observatory. With its location still largely unknown to the general public, the home sits quietly in the Northwest section of our nation's capital, just minutes from the historic and world-renowned Georgetown neighborhood. Now commonly known as "Number One Observatory Circle," the 9,150 square-foot mansion, designed by architect Leon Dessez, has served as the official full-time residence for every vice president since Walter Mondale. It's a home filled with incredible history and charm, yet blanketed with modern-day security features rivaling those of the White House. Journey through the pages of history with Charles Denyer as he unlocks the doors to the residence of America's vice presidents, providing never-before-seen photos and intimate interviews with past residents and other notable figures.

This well-schooled text provides a detailed description of how to perform practical astronomy or spherical astronomy. It is an authoritative source on astronomical phenomena and calendars.

“An intriguing, thorough study of a little-known scientific expedition to the Dead Sea by a mid-19th-century U.S. Navy lieutenant” (Kirkus Reviews). With customary depth and insight, David Haward Bain illumines the United States’s nineteenth-century exploration of the Holy Land. To lead the expedition, the navy tabbed William Francis Lynch, an officer eager to enter the esteemed yet dangerous field of Victorian exploration. Like many of his successful contemporaries, Lynch was well read and possessed an independent nature, but a man who also preferred organization to chaos, and with a character that tended toward the obsessive. The expedition would force a juxtaposition of the ancient world with the modern, as the world’s newest power attempted an exhaustive scientific study of the waters of the cradle of civilization. Beyond its fascinating topic, Bitter Waters is full of broad allusions from the period that demonstrate Bain’s deep understanding of America, and serve to make the work appealing for general scholars and lay readers. Heroically engaging unfamiliar terrain, hostile Bedouins, and ancient mysteries, Lynch and his party epitomize their nation’s spirit of Manifest Destiny in the days before the Civil War. “An engrossing narrative of the expedition that richly positions the mission’s incidents within Lynch’s Western perspective on the Near East. Wonderfully realized, Bain’s account will enthrall seekers of history off the beaten path.” —Booklist (starred review) “David Haward Bain, author of Empire Express, paints a vivid picture of the ambitious, visionary seafarers and their bold adventure . . . Bitter Waters captures this fascinating moment in American history.” —History Book Club (official selection)