Celestial navigation uses the positions of celestial bodies to determine one’s location on Earth. It requires tools such as a chart, instrument for taking sightings, and a clock. The process is tedious and requires good math skills, but has been largely replaced by GPS technology.
Celestial navigation is a form of navigation that involves using the known locations of celestial bodies to determine one’s location on Earth. This navigation technique has been used for thousands of years, only falling out of fashion at the end of the 20th century, when more accurate navigation methods began to be developed. Instruction in celestial navigation continues to be offered in some regions of the world, primarily as a historical point of interest.
When people navigate in an area with no known landmarks, like the middle of the ocean, they have no way of knowing where they are simply by looking around. Celestial navigation solves this problem by allowing navigators to take various sightings of celestial bodies and use the information from these sightings to determine where they are in relation to these objects, and therefore where they are on Earth.
The Sun and the Moon can be used in celestial navigation, along with the planets and some stars. For celestial navigation to work, the browser needs several tools. The first is an extensive chart that provides information on the key celestial bodies and their positions in relation to Earth. Next up is some kind of instrument for taking sightings, like a sextant. Navigators also need a clock, because sightings are useless without some sort of time frame, since the angle of a sighting changes as Earth and that object move through space.
To find out where one is, several sightings of known bodies are taken. The browser then uses basic math to determine your position. If, for example, two sightings or “fixes” are taken, the navigator can determine the “line of position” for each object. This line is roughly elliptical in shape, and shows where on Earth someone would have to stand to see that object at the observed angle. The navigator looks for the places where the position lines intersect, using the process of elimination to find the intersection point where it stops; If one intersection is in the Pacific Ocean and the other is in the Atlantic, for example, the navigator can usually figure out where the ship is.
Usually, at least three solutions are taken in celestial navigation, to ensure that the navigator reduces the position as much as possible. The process is tedious and requires patience and good math skills, because a single mistake can be quite catastrophic, especially in dangerous waters. A good navigator can reduce the possible positions on Earth to a fairly narrow space, but thanks to the use of global positioning satellites, it is possible to obtain even better data in much less time with a computer.
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