Welcome to the NavList Message Boards.

NavList:

A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding

Compose Your Message

Message:αβγ
Message:abc
Add Images & Files
    Name or NavList Code:
    Email:
       
    Reply
    Re: Wikipedia article on Winslow Homer's "Eight Bells"
    From: Doug MacPherson
    Date: 2019 Apr 8, 16:06 -0700

    Interesting problem.

    Some things I noticed.

    1.  from the article:  "noon sight" at local apparent noon, a standard during the days of celestial navigation.  Most other sights are made at dawn or twighlight.

    problem:   twighlight can be before sunrise (dawn) or after sunset.

    problem  Most other sights?  I believe that morning and afternoon "time sights" (or sunlines if they had swicthed to the "new navigation") would have been much more prevalent than stars or planets at twilight.

    2. from the article "...in reality, both observers would have had their octants to their eyes...."

    Not necessarily.  The sun hovers up there at the top of its arc for awhile, and it would seem more natural that the two navigators would not have lowered their octants at the same time.  Your not marking a specific time when you find the sun's greatest altitude at noon.

    Doug MacPherson

    38° 34' N  121° 29' W

       
    Reply
    Browse Files

    Drop Files

    NavList

    What is NavList?

    Get a NavList ID Code

    Name:
    (please, no nicknames or handles)
    Email:
    Do you want to receive all group messages by email?
    Yes No

    A NavList ID Code guarantees your identity in NavList posts and allows faster posting of messages.

    Retrieve a NavList ID Code

    Enter the email address associated with your NavList messages. Your NavList code will be emailed to you immediately.
    Email:

    Email Settings

    NavList ID Code:

    Custom Index

    Subject:
    Author:
    Start date: (yyyymm dd)
    End date: (yyyymm dd)

    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site
    Visit this site