NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Antoine Couëtte
Date: 2022 Nov 22, 18:33 -0800
Frank,
Thanks for all the very interesting details.
Sigh of relief ... I determined Latitude with a little over 1° error.
As regards the "almost pin-point" position, I found it quite time consuming for a better view than the first one I got. After some 20 minutes or so, I eventually decided that I should let go.
As regards UT determination, Stellarium undoubtedly helps ... It lets you perform a "trial and error fine-tuning" lunar-type exercise with Mars against its close star-background with distortion problems no longer a factor then.
A bit sorry there were so few actual runners this time in view of the time you spent devising this Nav Puzzle. Latitude was workable indeed by classical LOP's, Longitude did require more lateral thinking.
Of course, it is ... LONGITUDE, one of our favorite brain-teasers over the Centuries.
Anyway, here we are. I also included a view which is an almost perfect match of yours, and we certainly can pinpoint our fix to within a quarter of miles or so then.
Thanks again.
Kermit