NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: "Attainment of Precision" article (1964)
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2009 Jul 6, 20:26 -0700
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2009 Jul 6, 20:26 -0700
Jim, you wrote: "The referenced article was fascinating. I learned far more than I'll ever need." BEAR IN MIND that a good portion of what is contained in that article is incorrect. Unfortunately, some people are over-awed by anything published in a "journal" treating it as some sort of scripture. Publication in a refereed journal does not mean scientific proof or scientific validity or even scientific probability -- it means that the article met certain minimum standards as provided to a small group of reviewers and as interpreted by them. This is especially true for "journals" in minor subjects where referees are hard to come by. If publication in a journal constituted proof, science would be a much simpler process, and we would all have "cold fusion" generators in our homes by now. :-) And you wrote: "I was pleased to note that the author recommended the method for determining the error from which the index correction is determined is what I tell my students to use: the averaging of horizon measurements by bringing them into conjunction from two directions." If you want a really good value for IC, shoot the Sun or the Moon limb-to-limb. The author of that article back in 1964 was mostly working from a very small boat (and with excellent results considering that!) and he couldn't use the Sun or Moon for his frequent IC checks, but it's usually more effective than the standard sea horizon test (but the standard test is usually quite sufficient and it's the one that should always be taught). -FER --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc To post, email NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
