Celestial Navigation, Episode 1: An introduction to the course
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- Опубликовано: 29 июн 2024
- Practical Celestial Navigation course preview: meet the instructor, what materials and tables are needed, outline of the course. What is covered in the course: celestial theory, sight reduction process for sun-planet-star-moon sights, noon sight (latitude at noon), Latitude by Polaris, plotting of sights, sextant use, a celestial day's work.
I will show all relevant pages from the tables as we work through the video series, but to get the most out of the course, I recommend the following materials:
1) 2021 Nautical Almanac
2) H.O. Pub No. 249 Vol.2, Sight Reduction Table, Latitude 0-40 degrees
3) Universal Plotting Sheets, one pad of 50
4) Plotting tools: Parallel Rulers or equivalent, set of dividers, pencils & erasers
5) Optional: H.O. Pub No. 249 Vol.1, Selected Stars
Many marine chandleries that sell charts also have these publications, but here are three knowledgeable retailers/catalogues with good online stores:
1) Celestaire: www.celestaire.com
2) Landfall Navigation: www.landfallnavigation.com
3) Paradise Cay Publications: www.paracay.com
Course Episodes (subject to change):
1) Introduction
2) 30,000 foot Overview
3) Celestial Theory and the Celestial Triangle
4) Calculating Local Hour Angle & the Assumed Position
5) The Nautical Almanac, extracting Greenwich Hour Angle & Declination
6) The Sextant, taking a sight, correcting the sight
7) H.O. 249 Sight Reduction Tables, extracting Hc & Zn, calculating the Intercept
8) Plotting the sight, setting up a Universal Plotting Sheet
9) A full Sight Reduction of the Sun from start to finish
10) Latitude at Noon
11) Star sights, pre-calculation of twilight
12) Planet sights
13) Pre-calculating the positions of stars & planets at twilight, organizing your sights
14) Moon sight
15) Latitude by Polaris
16) A celestial day at sea: daily navigation, running fixes, star sight fixes, and more
17) (to come) Miscellaneous topics #1: Longitude at Noon
18) (to come)Taking a sextant sight, practical tips, reading the results, purchasing a sextant
19) (to come) Miscellaneous topics #2: Time Zones & timepieces, Correcting the Compass
20) (to come) A Celestial Navigation flow chart
21+) Other topics of interest tbd!
Here are links to a couple of videos you might enjoy, showing recent Marion to Bermuda Races when I was Navigator (the winning boat in 2015!):
2015 Race • The Mighty Ti: Marion...
2019 Race • Frolic - Marion Bermud...
![NOSFERATU - Official Teaser Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters December 25](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/b59rxDB_JRg/mqdefault.jpg)
I am sure glad to have found your video. You speak with a very pleasant and clear voice most suitable for an effective teacher. I am your fan now!
This is a great series Andy, really well presented. I like the pace, simple graphics, & very clear explanations. See you in Bermuda! John & Crew, CD36 TIARA :)
I like how old fashioned the setup for this series is
I’m getting into this cuz I recently learned older aircraft used celestial navigation before they were fitted with things like radio navigation. I hope I can utilise this knowledge for flight simulators.
That would probably depend on if the flight simulator has an accurate sky map.
@@LisaAnn777 That’s what I need to rely on. Unfortunately, videos I see online are always in daylight so I can never confirm it.
@@LisaAnn777 Hello again, I’ve recently found out the flight simulator I’m familiar with does indeed support celestial navigation so I will be able to utilize this knowledge for aviation 😁
My celestial nav experience is some 30 years astern. I just might do this, as a refresher, just for the halibut.
Happy that you can give it a shot.....you'll be surprised at how much you'll remember!
Thanks! I haven't the Funds to buy books, like I Did in Pilots school.
Hello!
Have an email I could shoot a few questions your way?
I’m going to pursue my celestial navigation cert to upgrade my license in the next coming months and I’m absolutely nervous. I planned on going through this series and the Burch book before the course starts to get a head start. I feel as if I will struggle, as I’m not the greatest with math! Willing to offer some guidance??
Sorry for the delay, you can find me here or at av.howe20@gmail.com.
Ok, Mr. Nav Station, are you sitting down? The reason why I'm going to undertake your course is because... get this... I debate with Flat Earth folks here on RUclips! And these guys are nothing if not ingenious. The latest "proof" of a flat Earth is... are you still sitting down?... that Celestial Navigation *can't* work on a Globe! It's unbelievable, yet they believe it, serious as a heart attack.
I've only watched the first two episodes of your course, and I just wanted to tell you your style and presentation are just perfect. I really got a kick out of the 30,000 foot overview, that really clears a lot of things up, and you explained things perfectly. You're a natural teacher, and I'm grateful for all the work you put into this course. 🙂
THAT is pretty funny!
@@thenavstation Elevation angle measurements require a horizontal plane (flat earth). How do you measure an elevation angle with a curved baseline (globe)?
@@tbrown3356 Elevation angle measurement does not require a horizontal plane or flat earth - your first misunderstanding.
@@karhukivi "Definition of angle of elevation
: the angle formed by the line of sight and the horizontal plane for an object above the horizontal."
Angle of elevation Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
@@tbrown3356 due to the size of the earth, the curvature is so minuscule it can be counted as flat for the sake of EAM
I'm teaching myself celestial navigation through book reading, as well as by watching your RUclips series. My Tamaya sextant does not have the original inspection certificate which shows the instrument error. How can I figure out what the instrument error is?
Unless you find that accurate sights seem to be impossible, I wouldn't worry about it. The instrument error is documented at the factory and I'm not sure we mere mortals can approach the measurement accuracy needed to find it. I have two Tamaya sextants that I've used for many years. One documents an error of 0.1' of arc at 105 degrees altitude, and the other has no certificate. I have never incorporated the small error into any sights.....a tenth of a minute of arc is equivalent to a tenth of a mile, or a dot from a super sharp pencil on most plotting sheets, which practically speaking is not an issue.
Episodes 16 - 20 are not available on your youtube channel site. What gives?
Episode 16 is up there (click Play All on the "Complete Course" playlist), not sure why it doesn't show up otherwise but will look into that. Episodes 17+ have not been taped yet!
@@thenavstation Shows 16 vides but says one video is hidden and unavailable. Is that video 16? Thanks for the fast response :)
@@thenavstation - Hello Andy, clicking the Complete Course playlist will only list the first 15 episodes. At the top of the list it says: 1 video not available, masked. Can't find episode 16.
@@robertlafleur5179 It should be fixed...not sure how it got dropped. Mysteries of YT!
@@thenavstation - It is, thanks.
I'm teaching myself celestial navigation through book reading, as well as by watching your RUclips series. My Tamaya sextant does not have the original inspection certificate which shows the instrument error. How can I figure out what the instrument error is?
I wouldn't worry about it, but would take and reduce a few sights from a stable platform (land!) to make sure that things are working as well as they should. In more than 40 years of taking sights using dozens of different sextants, I've never seen a sextant with a major instrument error that had to be applied to the sight correction, whether it was listed on an inspection certificate or not shown.
Usually Tamaya sextants have no error too. Mine reads 0 on all.