NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Astronomy and Celestial Navigation
From: Bill B
Date: 2006 Jun 4, 01:51 -0400
From: Bill B
Date: 2006 Jun 4, 01:51 -0400
Guy asked: > I wonder how many of the list participant are also into astronomy? In addition > was it astronomy that got you interested > in Cel Nav or was it Cel nav that got you interested in astronomy? Sailing and a desire for the tradition (the "old ways", with systems that don't fail) finally lead me to cel nav (something I had meant to do for a decade) after a seminar by Ken Gebhart at Strictly Sail in Chicago a bit over two years ago. I started my quest after Ken's seminar with astronomy devices and sites, working on the premise I could not observe it if I could not find it. Astronomy was/is a fascinating pursuit. After about 5 months of astronomy I made the leap to cel nav, only to be confronted with RA vs. GHA etc. A it of confusion for a beginner to both. I started cel nav with a cardboard sextant and 229 to see if I could do it. As previously noted, it has become much more than that. In the end, time permitting, astronomy is now on my "plan to do" list. It gives me a good reasons to step away from the pixels on my "square-headed girlfriend and step outdoors on a daily basis for things beyond skiing, sailing, and tennis. Bill
