In the opinion of our astronomers, such a combination of astronomical events is unlikely to recur for many thousands of years. By computing backward from their time, people of the future will therefore be able to determine the number of years that have elapsed since our time.
The Capsule lies buried at exactly the point where the centerline of the Westinghouse plot intersects the centerline of the great halls of the Westinghouse World's Fair building. By A.D. 6939, it is probable, all present-day landmarks, city surveys, and other such aids for locating such an object will have disappeared. The spot may still be discovered, however, by determination of the latitude and longitude. The exact geodetic coordinates [North American Datum of 1927] are:
| Latitude | 40° | 44′ | 34″.089 | north of the Equator |
| Longitude | 73° | 50′ | 43″.842 | west of Greenwich |
These coordinates, surveyed by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey and given to the thousandth part of a second of arc, are accurate enough to locate an object one-tenth of a foot or less in diameter at a particular position on the surface of the earth.[1]
It may be that due to shifts of the earth's poles, differences in method, or other causes, this calculation will still not give the exact spot. It may also happen that the Time Capsule will sink or migrate from the point of deposit during the ages. Seekers may nevertheless still find it by the methods of electrical prospecting such as are used in our day for the location of minerals, water, buried metallic objects, and deposits of salt and oil.
- ↑ See page 43.
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