NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Celestial in the Gulf of Oman
From: Luc Van den Borre
Date: 2014 Sep 09, 11:45 +0200
From: Luc Van den Borre
Date: 2014 Sep 09, 11:45 +0200
On 9/09/2014 8:11, Frank Reed wrote: > * Is the navigator really navigating? Or is it staged, just for > appearances? > * What type of sextant is he using? Is it a real instrument? Does it > have any flaws or faults? > * Given that the photo was taken in mid-October, what is the time of > day consistent with the apparent observation? I'll play along. It all looks rather legit to me, though no doubt you've spotted something fishy. He appears to be staring in the sun's direction, and the shadow on his face seems consistent with the angle on the sextant. Between 50 and 60 degrees, I think? http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php calculates the Sun's altitude as 56.1° at noon... The sextant seems to be missing its sighting tube but that ring will suffice, I suppose. He's wearing a wrist watch so he can note the time of the observation. > * If the photo/video was taken by someone nicknamed 'Passepartout' and > working for the BBC, what year was this photo taken? And what > moderately famous person was also on board the dhow? At least that one I can partially answer: Michael Palin, for his 'Around the World in 80 Days' series, from the time when TV was blurry! Luc
