NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: The Great Circle Challenge
From: Stan K
Date: 2014 Dec 26, 15:10 -0500
From: Stan K
Date: 2014 Dec 26, 15:10 -0500
FWIW, here are the outputs from Celestial Tools.
The "GreatCircleChallenge file shows the initial course, the distance, the maximum latitude, and the final course. "The "GratCircleChallengePoints" file breaks the great circle into rhumb line segments where the courses change at whole 5º of longitude. It shows the rhumb line courses of the segments and the distances on those segments. It also can calculate the latitude of any particular longitude on the great circle, even if the point is not on the route.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Pike <NoReply_DavidPike@fer3.com>
To: slk1000 <slk1000@aol.com>
Sent: Fri, Dec 26, 2014 11:22 am
Subject: [NavList] The Great Circle Challenge
From: David Pike <NoReply_DavidPike@fer3.com>
To: slk1000 <slk1000@aol.com>
Sent: Fri, Dec 26, 2014 11:22 am
Subject: [NavList] The Great Circle Challenge
The Great Circle Challenge
Clearly, from recent posts, we all have a favoured way of solving great circle sailings (which we’ll probably never use for real). Let’s put them to the test by trying something a bit more complicated like a southern to northern hemisphere crossing combined with a crossing of 180degrees E/W. How about emulating Captain Cook by travelling from Cook Strait (CS), New Zealand to Waimea Bay (WB), Kauai, Hawaii? Cook followed the pretty route, but we’ll go direct by great circle. The coordinates are CS 41d 30’S, 174d30’E to WB 21d57’N, 159d 40’W. Use your favourite method and report back on your answer, the time it took you, and any difficulties encountered.
I’ll stick with the diagram method, because at least I’ll know what I’m trying to prove, and I won’t have as many rules to remember and apply which might or might not work. Dave