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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
History of the Nautical Almanac
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2012 Apr 9, 10:25 -0700
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2012 Apr 9, 10:25 -0700
My previous post made me think: What is the history of the Nautical Almanac? How long has it been produced by the US? By the UK? What did mariners use as a nautical almanac before these publications became available? I assume that as soon as chronometers (and/or lunars) became available (mid- to late-1700s) navigators suddenly needed to accurately know star positions any time, any day, across the year.
When Harrison's first practical chronometer was taken afloat to Jamaica, by what method did the British government representatives determine that it was only 5 seconds off after a month at sea?
