The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator: Everything but the Sextant — 2007-2011 Edition

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Item # MH-85692  ISBN: 9780071485692




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Your All-in-One Navigation Tool Kit

Celestial navigation remains an essential skill for every mariner who ventures out of sight of land. In this era of electronic navigation, it is the perfect backup system, enabling you to determine your position when the GPS malfunctions or your boat loses electrical power.

Here in one volume is every bit of information you need to understand the process, take sights, and find your location anywhere in the world. Compiled for beginning and experienced celestial navigators alike, and elegantly designed on the assumption that 1-mile precision is perfectly adequate for backup navigation, this handy volume replaces $300 worth and thousands of pages of guides, tables, and almanacs.

The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator includes:

• A clear, concise primer/refresher that explains the entire process
• A five-year nautical almanac (2007–2011) for determining precise star, sun, moon, and planet locations at the time of sighting
• A star finder
• Sight reduction tables for crunching the numbers and producing a fix anywhere in the world

"The only complete self-contained work available. When your electronic navigation fails, 'steering by the stars' will guide you safely to your destination."—Sydney Afloat (Australia)

Table of contents

PART ONE: HOW TO WORK A SIGHT—AN OVERVIEW

Introduction

Scope and Contents

Equipment
Sextant | Perpendicularity Error | Side Error | Index Error | Clocks

Almanac Data
Stars and Aries | Sun and Planets | Moon | Summary | Alternative Interpolation Method

Planning and Observations
Planning | Sextant Observations | Identification | Observation Methods | Sunrise, Sunset, and Twilight

Sextant Altitude Corrections
Dip Correction | Index Correction | Star and Planet Corrections | Sun Correction | Moon Correction Summary

The Marcq St. Hilaire Method
Intercept | Azimuth | Azimuth Tables | Weir Diagrams | The Position Fix

Amplitudes

Polaris
Azimuth | Latitude

Sun Observations
Running Fixes | Meridian Observations

Sight Reduction at Very Low Altitudes

PART TWO: TABLES, EXAMPLES, and FORMS

Constants and Formulas | GHA Aries and Star Ephemerides | Sun and Planet Ephemerides | Sun and Planet Interpolation and Altitude Corrections | Moon Ephemerides | Moon Declination Interpolation | Moon (GHA-GMT) Interpolation | Moon Altitude Corrections | Sextant Altitude Analysis Example | Prediction and Identification | LAT of Sunrise and Sunset | LAT of Civil Twilight | Sight Reduction Tables | Azimuth Tables | Weir Diagrams | Polaris (Latitude and Azimuth) | Change of Altitude in 5 Minutes of Time | Sight Reduction Example: Stars, Planet, and Moon | Running Fix Example: Sun | Alternative Interpolation Table (Calculator) | Form: Sextant Altitude Analysis | Form: Sight Reduction | Form: Sight Reduction (Plot)

The Navigational Stars

Index

Conversion of Time to Arc

About the Author

Dr. George G. Bennett is owner and director of CN Systems, which produces navigational calculator and computer software. He has navigated boats in a number of major ocean races, received numerous honors, and taught navigation for 20 years.

The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator: Everything but the Sextant — 2007-2011 Edition