The question, “What time is it?” has evolved from perhaps the crudest of any measurements (dawn - noon - dusk) to possibly the most precise and accurate measurements in the history of mankind. There is great variety in how the different methods worked and why they were important, each replacing its predecessor as the accuracy kept improving. The descriptions will be non-technical and will be liberally illustrated.

Myles Standish, Ph.D. in astronomy from Yale, spent most of his career at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, providing accurate planetary positions to the spacecraft navigation team as well as to the world’s major almanac offices. He has spoken at professional meetings, astronomy departments, civic groups, and was a guest lecturer on the Queen Mary II. Asteroid “3420 Standish” was named in his honor.