NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Lunar distances
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2002 May 4, 05:54 +0100
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2002 May 4, 05:54 +0100
Luis Mederos asked- >Hello, >I am new to this list and this is may first message. I have been looking >for information on the old "lunnar distances" >method. I am interested in the mathematics behind the method. Could any >one give references on this topic (web site, >book, etc)?. >Thanks a lot, >Luis Mederos George Huxtable responds- Welcome to Nav-L, Luis. Presumably you have a copy of my series of postings "About lunars", parts 1 to 4 having appeared on Nav-L since New Year. Part 5 is still being assembled and is somewhat overdue, I'm sorry to admit. If you don't have these 4, just ask me for copies, or else consult the Nav-L archive. The best book I know about the mathematical background is Charles H Cotter, History of Nautical Astronomy, Hollis and Carter, London, 1968. It is of course long out of print and is hard to find second-hand. The proof-reading wasn't perfect and I am aware of several errors (any interested owner is welcome to contact me for a listing of them). There's a really good account of lunars in "The Mathematics of the Longitude" by Wong Lee Nah, a dissertation for a degree at the National University of Singapore, which can be found in full on the web. I was led to this by a recommendation on Nav-L but am sorry to say I seem to have lost the web address. Perhaps another list member can help to retrieve it, or perhaps a search engine. I remember that the word aslaksen (= name of supervisor) was part of the web address. This publication has good illustrations and the formulae are expressed in very clear typescript. There's an unfortunate error in his calculation of an example using Borda's method, where he switches from 5-figure logs to 4-figures at the wrong place, and is led to some incorrect conclusions. But otherwise, it's pretty reliable. There are some very relevant papers about lunars in "The Quest for Longitude", ed. Andrewes (Harvard, 1996). Mainly about the chronometer solution to longitude, it's beautifully produced and full of interesting stuff. But rather expensive. Good reading... George Huxtable. ------------------------------ george@huxtable.u-net.com George Huxtable, 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK. Tel. 01865 820222 or (int.) +44 1865 820222. ------------------------------