Quote:
Originally Posted by mikemasey
Hi all,
Does anyone know how I can learn how to navigate by the stars? Just at the beginers level will do!
Thanks
Mike.  |
Hi Mike,
You need to buy yourself a second hand sextant, then something like this free
fguide available as a zipped pdf is a good place to start -
http://www.celnav.de/astro.zip
The source web site the document is from is -
http://www.celnav.de/
However, this particular reference provides the actual equations whereas in reality
tables and some calculation are used in a more cookbook approach.
With a programmable calculator, you can even replace the tables.
Books such as this one (I happen to have a copy) are about as simple as it gets (112 pages, big typeface and very light reading) -
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270902949776?hlp=false
A quick Google for Celestial Navigation will provide a wealth of other, often free, resources.
Some first year university surveying text books will also usually have sections of celestial navigation.