NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Meridional Distances
From: Chuck Taylor
Date: 2002 Sep 17, 16:20 US/PACIFIC
From: Chuck Taylor
Date: 2002 Sep 17, 16:20 US/PACIFIC
> > Although I have tables accurate to 2 decimal places for the Meridional > Parts, the Meridional Distances come only in whole degrees, so need to > be interpelated for in-between values. Peter, Bowditch has tables of Meridional Parts to quite a number of decimal places. The method for computing distances using Meridional Parts is called "Mercator Sailing" and is also described in Bowditch. The introduction to the tables in Bowditch gives a formula for computing Meridional Parts. I have programmed this into a calculator. One could also program it into a spreadsheet. If memory serves me correctly (I'm away from my home library) there is a typo in the formula in Bowditch 95, but Bowditch 80/84 Volume 2 has it right. Best regards, Chuck Taylor Everett, WA, USA
