NavList:

The American Air Almanac back in the 1940s was packed with clever features. On the margin for each day there was a simple display of the relative positions of the bright planets (plus Mercury), and the Moon displaying phase, as well as four bright ecliptic stars laid out in their positions relative to the Sun by elongation and also by ecliptic latitude. That ecliptic latitude was mostly useful for the Moon. It also shows the location of "Aries" (meaning the zero point of RA or SHA). It's like a little paper "orrery"! I think with some patience, in a moment of boredom, it might even have been played as a "flip book" back in 1945 to watch the relative positions of the Moon and planets shift relative to the Sun.

I actually own a paper copy of this volume from the first quarter of 1945. It's not a rare thing. I'm just noting that I am able to hold this volume in my hand and browse it. I selected a date and considered scanning it, but decided instead to use an existing scan found at hathitrust.org (note: "hathi" here is pronounced like "hottie"). Below I have attached one page, covering the first twelve hours of Greenwich Time for February 23, 1945. Trying to copy Josh's theme here, that's a significant date in US military history. It's the Marines again... this time on "Sulfur Island".

One image shows the full page. Lots of interesting features there, many of which continue in the modern (pdf-only) editions of the Air Almanac. The other image is just the page margin for that date. I rotated it for easier viewing. I did some spot checks on the positions, too, and it looks good.

I do believe that a modern Nautical Almanac, book or app, would benefit from a little "orrery-like" display similar to these daily illustrations from the old American Air Almanac. It's one feature that has not survived in the modern editions. This "paper orrery" is nowhere near as cool as Trammell H's mechanical orrery, but it's a nice proof that "we need this". :)

Frank Reed
Clockwork Mapping / ReedNavigation.com
Conanicut Island USA

Celebrating twenty years of my role as NavList manager this week.
Yes... twenty freaking years!

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