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Scott and fellow explorers died in the Antarctic around 29 March 1912,
heading away from the pole and back to their base camp. At dinner
today at Clare Hall, Cambridge my friend Prof Petri Pellikka, visiting
the Scott Polar Research institute, mentioned as a side project he was
interested in where Scott's body was now in the ice sheet and when it
is likely to emerge into the ocean.

Scott and his companions' bodies were discovered on 12 November 1912.
and marked with a cairn. And I presume the position was carefully
recorded. A quick Google search gave 81°30'S 175°00'W

We know that polar explorers used dead reckoning  (compass and sledge
odometer) and celestial navigation (sextant and chronometer). So in
November would they have been able to see any celestial body other
than the sun at 81 degrees South? I presume if they were using the
Sun's altitude it would have been very inaccurate as low in the sky.
But they could do a Sun run Sun while moving and multiple observations
throughout the day when stationary. Presumably the refraction
correction is the key.

So my question is: if they were to observe for a full clear day in
November 1912 how accurate a fix could they get?

I hope some members will have more knowledge of polar navigation than I do.

Best wishes

Bill Lionheart

   

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