Welcome to the NavList Message Boards.

NavList:

A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding

Compose Your Message

Message:αβγ
Message:abc
Add Images & Files
    Name or NavList Code:
    Email:
       
    Reply
    Re: Curve fitting for noon Sun
    From: Brad Morris
    Date: 2020 Jan 12, 19:52 -0500
    Rafael wrote: My initial celestial navigation project was to try to determine latitude by noon sun, to start with an easy measurement

    He did not write: The point of this process is to determine the UT of meridian passage.

    So it is not "Wrong. Wrong. Wrong." 





    On Sun, Jan 12, 2020, 7:33 PM Frank Reed <NoReply_FrankReed@fer3.com> wrote:

    Brad, you wrote:
    "Plot your points as shown, on a piece of paper.  Fair in a curve with a pencil.  Fold the paper so the left and right halves are superimposed. "

    The part about "fairing in a curve" was common in late 20th century books that described this process. Do not do it! It spoils the whole thing. Plot the points. Then fold (lightly) and hold up to a bright light. Slide the paper back and forth until the before noon/after noon points line up as well as possible. Then crease the fold. If you draw the curve first, then no matter how much you pretend to ignore it, you will be inclined to superimpose your sketched curves rather the observations points themselves.

    You added:
    "Further, you can skip just about all of this for the sun's meridian passage.  The sun will hang there, with hardly any perceptible change.  Simply determine when you think LAN will occur as a function of your longitude and time zone."

    Wrong, wrong, wrong. The point of this process is to determine the UT of meridian passage. You then calculate GHA at that UT. This is the observer's longitude (after applying a small correction for relative N/S motion).

    Frank Reed

       
    Reply
    Browse Files

    Drop Files

    NavList

    What is NavList?

    Get a NavList ID Code

    Name:
    (please, no nicknames or handles)
    Email:
    Do you want to receive all group messages by email?
    Yes No

    A NavList ID Code guarantees your identity in NavList posts and allows faster posting of messages.

    Retrieve a NavList ID Code

    Enter the email address associated with your NavList messages. Your NavList code will be emailed to you immediately.
    Email:

    Email Settings

    NavList ID Code:

    Custom Index

    Subject:
    Author:
    Start date: (yyyymm dd)
    End date: (yyyymm dd)

    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site