NavList:

Hello Frank,

Here goes some thoughts,

Let’s assume that your starship’s advanced navigation system includes a nautical almanac for the alien planet you have crash landed on. Also, let’s assume that the alien planet shape is close to a sphere, so the spherical triangulation principles work.

With some luck, you have landed on a planet with a lot of moons, so you can start by calculating the time using all you have learned at Frank’s Lunar classes.

In theory, you could use your terrestrial watch on another planet, but you would need to wait unless one complete rotation of the planet around the star to measure the rotation time and being able to calculate GHA and increments.

You would need to define your own Greenwich meridian on the alien planet and communicate that to your rescue team. Not sure how to do that.

Without knowing the size of the alien planet, you cannot calculate the dip correction.

You will not be able to calculate refraction if the alien planet has an atmosphere.

You landed near the ocean, so you can determine the index error.

You cannot determine your assumed position so the LOP method will not work. However, you can still resolve your position by measuring at least two celestial bodies (your sun, moons, and stars) and resolve both spherical triangles together, as you would do on Earth. 

Lastly, If the alien planet has a gravity lower than the earth, your arms will notice and enjoy that when taking the sights, particularly the lunar’s ones.

Have a good weekend,

Martin Caminos