NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Murray Buckman
Date: 2024 Mar 15, 13:27 -0700
I was reminded yesterday of some of the silly games we would play at sea when racing. One of these (in suitable weather) was a competition to guess the (ship)time when the first star would be seen at evening twilight, and then a competition to spot the first star. Guesses had to be in the book by sunset. As the navigator I would have my options for star sights worked out in advance (Volume 1 of the Air Tables) and getting the crew on deck to play this game meant helpers when I needed them. Unfortunately the crew tended to tire of this after a day or two (seeing through my nefarious plot).
Yesterday evening was relatively clear in the Pacific Northwest, so I chose 4 of the 7 stars for my time and latitude, made my guesses and went outside with sextant, compass and a pair of binoculars. I thought I would see Jupiter before the first star. I was wrong. Jupiter did not appear (through some haze) until I had seen both Sirius and Procyon. I guessed Sirius first, and was correct, but was 6 minutes late against my estimate. And so on. Clouds, haze (and trees etc if on land) etc are all valid obstructions each guesser must consider.
Anyway, it is a bit of fun to play with the famly (kids, grandchildren and so on) and provides a teaching opportunity including an introduction to whatever tools you use to work out in advance which stars will be where, their magnitude, the time of twilight etc.
Murray
