NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Celestial Navigation is so simple
From: Don Seltzer
Date: 2018 Apr 28, 11:47 -0400
From: Don Seltzer
Date: 2018 Apr 28, 11:47 -0400
Last night I watched a rerun of MacGyver. He and his friends are stranded in the Nevada desert looking for Area 51.
With no compass or GPS available, MacGyver suggest celestial navigation to find their destination (he just happens to have memorized the lat and long for Area 51).'Uh, am I to believe you just happen to have a sextant on you?
No, but if you give me a minute.' ...
'So for those of us who didn't major in advanced abstract dorkery, what's a sextant, again?
And, with the least amount of sciencey words possible, please? I can try.'
[SNIFFS] 'A sextant is an ancient navigational tool used by sailors to chart their course through the night sky. All we got to do is measure the angular distance, of a few well-known stars, do a little math, obviously, and we should be able to calculate our exact location. But I need a watch.'
It takes him a few minutes to draw up a protractor on a piece of paper, attach a plumb bob, and sight a few stars.'Okay, we are approximately 37 degrees, 12 minutes north by 115 degrees 47 minutes west. And if Polaris is there, that means we go - that way.'Don Seltzer
