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  • 2020-03-31 (xsd:date)
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  • The Great Pyramid’s location isn’t as spooky as this post makes out (en)
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  • The coordinates of the Great Pyramid of Giza is 29.9792458°N This is only one coordinate, giving its latitude but not its longitude. It is also only one of many lines of latitude that pass through the pyramid. The coordinates of the Great Pyramid of Giza and the speed of light in metres per second are the same and this could be more than coincidence One line of latitude passing through the pyramid contains the same numbers as the speed of light in a vacuum, but there are around 20,000 other lines of latitude passing through the pyramid, so you have to choose the number deliberately to make it look like a coincidence. A popular Facebook post suggests that the location of the Great Pyramid of Giza is mysteriously connected to the speed of light. It says: Speed of light: 299,792,458 m/s. Coordinates of the Great Pyramid of Giza: 29.9792458°N. Coincidence? This figure for the speed of light (in a vacuum) is correct. And, as the post implies, it is not necessarily a coincidence that it matches the latitude of the Great Pyramid. This is not because the ancient Egyptians somehow shared our modern understanding of metres, light and latitude, but because it takes some deliberate work to make the numbers fit. In fact, the post only gives one coordinate, not the two we would need for a precise location. This means we have to look along the line of latitude at 29.9792458°N, which does pass through the Great Pyramid, but also through many other places around the world. Given that we’re looking at such precise coordinates, other lines also pass through the pyramid. This particular line passes slightly to the north of the pyramid’s peak. When the fact checking site Snopes looked into this, they found that the line at 29.9791750°N would be closer to the apex, but of course that would not match the speed of light so neatly. The numbers in this claim are expressed to seven decimal places, which would allow you to draw about 20,000 lines with different numbers, between roughly 29.9802000°N and 29.9782000, all passing through the pyramid. This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as true because the claim is correct, even if this is only one of many lines that pass through the Great Pyramid. (en)
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