20171021 Magellan Expedition reaches the Eastern entrance to the Strait of Magellan
497 years ago today, Ferdinand Magellan and his four remaining ships and crew arrived at the mouth of what would be later recognized as the Strait of Magellan.
Visitors to the area have posted numerous photographs on Google Earth at the location marked Estrecho de Magallanes.
While some of the photographs do not appear when requested, many do, and the nature of the terrain and some of the wildlife present there can be seen.
In particular, one visitor took a picture from an aircraft, showing the Strait in light from the sun at the horizon.
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On this day, 497 years ago, the four remaining ships of the Magellan Expedition are sailing South along the coast of Argentina. They reached what is now known as Point Dungeness, and Magellan named it Cape Virgenes. (1)
(1) Reference 10, page 70
https://www.weather-forecast.com/weathe ... -Dungeness
Current weather: 38 degrees Fahrenheit (taken 2017/10/18)
Per Reference #10, Page 70:
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… against strong, punishing headwinds, he led the fleet further south, to a long sandy point he named Cape Virgenes, in honor of Saint Ursula, on whose birthday, October 21, it was discovered.
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Google Earth shows several picture icons labeled Cabo Virgenes, along the coast North of the entrance to the Strait of Magellan.
The coordinates of one of these is:
52 degrees 20 minutes 26.43 seconds South
68 degrees 21 minutes 57.87 seconds West
The icon at this location offers 12 images of the area, including penguins and a lighthouse.
From an altitude of 259 km, the complex system of bays and channels which Magellan and his crew explored is visible.
Per Reference #10:
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Pilot Albo logged the position at latitude 52 degrees South. Soon afterward they came to a bay that extended deep inland; Magellan anchored the Trinidad and the Victoria there and dispatched the San Antonio and the Concepcion to investigate
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Addendum on 2017/10/24:
https://www.livescience.com/60761-oldes ... found.html
The article at the link above,
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By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | October 25, 2017 06:56am ET
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reports confirmation of an astrolabe used ca 1495 by the Vasco da Gama expedition
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The marine astrolabe likely dates to between 1495 and 1500, and was aboard a ship known as the Esmeralda, which sank in 1503. The Esmeralda was part of a fleet led by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the first known person to sail directly from Europe to India.
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This instrument would have been state-of-the-art when Ferdinand Magellan designed his voyage.
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