NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Sean C
Date: 2015 Oct 26, 14:26 -0700
Norm,
Yes, lunars are a measure of the distance from the moon to a star, planet or the sun. In fact, any other celestial body which lies sufficiently close to the ecliptic can be used*. And they are useful if you don't happen to have access to an otherwise accurate source of universal time. The moon is one of the few celestial bodies whose apparent motion is fast enough to be useful for determining UT. (The moons of Jupiter being the only other bodies available that I am aware of.) Lunars are also useful for sharpening one's skill with a sextant...and for just plain fun, if you like that sort of thing. ;)
Regards,
Sean C.
*Actually, the other body can be a fair distance from the ecliptic, as long as the moon's apparent motion relative to the body is close to 30 arc minutes per hour. (I think.)
