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Your All-in-One Navigation Tool Kit
Celestial navigation remains an essential skill for every mariner who ventures out of sight of land. In this era of electronic navigation, it is the perfect backup system, enabling you to determine your position when the GPS malfunctions or your boat loses electrical power.
Here in one volume is every bit of information you need to understand the process, take sights, and find your location anywhere in the world. Compiled for beginning and experienced celestial navigators alike, and elegantly designed on the assumption that 1-mile precision is perfectly adequate for backup navigation, this handy volume replaces $300 worth and thousands of pages of guides, tables, and almanacs.
The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator includes:
A clear, concise primer/refresher that explains the entire process
A five-year nautical almanac (2007-2011) for determining precise star, sun, moon, and planet locations at the time of sighting
A star finder
Sight reduction tables for crunching the numbers and producing a fix anywhere in the world
"The only complete self-contained work available. When your electronic navigation fails, 'steering by the stars' will guide you safely to your destination."- Sydney Afloat (Australia)
List of contents
Part One: How to Work a Sight-An Overview
How To Work a Sight-An Overview
1 Introduction
2 Scope and Contents
3 Equipment
3.1 Sextant
Perpendicularity Error
Side Error
Index Error
3.2 Clocks
4 Almanac Data
4.1 Stars and Aries
4.2 Sun and Planets
4.3 Moon
4.4 Summary
4.5 Alternative Interpolation Method
5 Planning and Observations
5.1 Planning
5.2 Sextant Observations
5.3 Identification
5.4 Observation Methods
5.5 Sunrise, Sunset, and Twilight
6 Sextant Altitude Corrections
6.1 Dip Correction
6.2 Index Correction
6.3 Star and Planet Corrections
6.4 Sun Correction
6.5 Moon Correction
6.6 Summary
7 The Marcq St. Hilaire Method
7.1 Intercept
7.2 Azimuth
Azimuth Tables
Weir Diagrams
7.3 The Position Fix
8 Amplitudes
9 Polaris
9.1 Azimuth
9.2 Latitude
10 Sun Observations
10.1 Running Fixes
10.2 Meridian Observations
11 Sight Reduction at Very Low Altitudes
Part Two: Tables, Examples, and Forms
Constants and Formulas
GHA Aries and Star Ephemerides
Sun and Planet Ephemerides
Sun and Planet Interpolation and Altitude Corrections
Moon Ephemerides
Moon Declination Interpolation
Moon (GHA-GMT) Interpolation
Moon Altitude Corrections
Sextant Altitude Analysis Example
Prediction and Identification
LAT of Sunrise and Sunset
LAT of Civil Twilight
Sight Reduction Tables
Azimuth Tables
Weir Diagrams
Polaris (Latitude and Azimuth)
Change of Altitude in 5 Minutes of Time
Sight Reduction Example: Stars, Planet, and Moon
Running Fix Example: Sun
Alternative Interpolation Table (Calculator)
Form: Sextant Altitude Analysis
Form: Sight Reduction
Form: Sight Reduction (Plot)
The Navigational Stars
Index
Conversion of Time to Arc
About the author
Dr. George G. Bennett owns and directs CNSystems, which produces navigational calculator and computer software. He has navigated boats in a number of major ocean races, received numerous honors, and taught navigation for 20 years.
