Historical Importance:

In 1769 Captain Cook went to Tahiti to observe a Venusian Transit of the

Sun. His measurements were to be compared to other observations made
in England and the resulting information would help create better
navigation instruments.

This didn't workout but, making a long story short, he discovered

California, Alaska, Hawaii, Tasmania and almost reached Antartica before
his life ended.
3. The theory behind celestial navigation

The basic theory behind celestial navigation is finding our unknown

position from a known position. If we have some information we can
deduce the rest.

Below are several basic rules on which the practice of celestial navigation
is build upon:
a. Celestial navigation is based on the pre-Copernican concept. Its view
of the heavens is that the Earth is the unmoving centre, around
which the sun, moon, stars and planets revolve.

b. Space and time are a continuum. In celestial navigation,

time=distance. Longitude is measured in degrees, and each 15o is
represented by 1 hour. (Since 360o = 24 hour) i.e. One hour of the
rotation of the Earth corresponds to 15o angle of the Earths rotation.
One second of time is equal to roughly mile at the equator.

c. The three coordinate systems:

(It is essential that we are familiar with some of the common terms
used in celestial navigation.)

Earths coordinate system :

Equator: is the only great circle whose plane passes through the
centre of the earth and is perpendicular to the polar axis. It is used as
a reference point for setting latitude lines, thereby given the value 0 o.
Latitude lines: runs parallel to the equator. It circles the Earth to the
North Pole from 0 to 90 for the North Latitude and from 0 to 90 to
the South Pole for South Latitude.

Longitude lines: runs perpendicular to the equator. They are vertical

circles, beginning at 0 at the Greenwich Meridian running through
Greenwich, England, and circling 180 to the east for East Longitude
and 180 to the west for West longitude. Each degree is further
subdivided into 60 minutes, and each minutes into 60 seconds (3600
seconds per degree)

With this grid system, we can pinpoint the location of anything on

Earth by giving its latitude and longitude.

Celestial Bodies coordinate system:

Celestial Equator: It is the imaginary great circle above the earths
terrestrial equator and is located half way between the celestial poles.

Declination: It is the angular distance of the celestial body measured

north or south from the celestial equator (0 degrees). It is analogous to
earths latitude.

Right ascension or hour circles: It is the angle between the

meridian of the vernal equinox and the meridian of the star and is
measured eastward from the vernal equinox. It is analogous to the
longitude lines on the celestial equator. However, right ascension is
measured starting from 0 to 360, or in hours from 0 to 24 hours
(rather than 180 east or west as in the case of longitude.)

First Point of Aries:

Also known as the vernal equinox. It is also referred as the 0 hour
circle (or celestial meridian). It is the base point for calculating right
ascension.

Observers coordinate system:

Zenith: the point directly over the observers head

Nadir: the point beneath the feet of the observer.

Horizon: The equator of the observer, perpendicular to the zenith.

Altitude: The latitude of the celestial body, measuring from the

horizon up to the zenith of an observer (90). The angle is measured
with a sextant or other navigational instruments.

Azimuth: The number of degrees along the horizon of a celestial body

and it corresponds to the compass direction. It starts due North and
increases clockwise to 90o East, then 180o South and then 270o West
and finally back to 0o North.

Observers meridian: the imaginary line running from observers

zenith due north or south to the observers horizon.
d. Hour Angles:

Geographical Position (GP) : The point on Earths surface which

passes through the centre of the Earth, through its surface, and into
the centre of the celestial body. This information is in the Almanac for
every day, hour and minute of the year.

Greenwich Hour Angle (GHA): The angle measured at the pole

between the meridian passing through Greenwich and the meridian
passing through the celestial body.

Local Hour Angle (LHA):

The angle measured at the celestial pole between the meridian passing
through the observers meridian and the meridian passing through the
celestial body.

Sidereal Hour Angle (SHA):

The angle measured at the celestial pole between the meridian passing
through the first point of Aeries and the meridian passing through the
celestial body, measured westwards.

The Almanac gives the GHA of everything but the stars because that
would take up too much room, instead it gives the SHA, which we can
use to convert, and worksheets help us figure the LHA by using our
longitude.
What Is Navigation?

Navigation is the process of planning, recording, and controlling the

movement of a craft from one location to another. The word derives from
the Latin roots navis ("ship") and agere ("to move or direct"). Geographic
informationusually in the form of latitudes and longitudesis at the
core of navigation practice. Mapping Toolbox includes specialized
functions for navigating across expanses of the globe, for which projected
coordinates are of limited use.

Using the stars, sun, and moon (celestial navigation)

Using technology to fix positions (inertial guidance, radio beacons,
and satellite navigation, including GPS)
Deducing net movement from a past known position (dead
reckoning)

Another navigational task involves planning a voyage or flight, which

includes determining an efficient route (usually by great circle
approximation), weather avoidance (optimal track routing), and setting
out a plan of intended movement (track lay down). Mapping Toolbox
contains functions to support these navigational activities as well.

Conventions for Navigational Functions

Units

To make these functions easy to use, and to conform to common

navigational practice, for these specific functions only, certain conventions
are used:

Angles are always in degrees.

Distances are always in nautical miles.
Speeds are always in knots (nautical miles per hour).

Navigational Track Format

Navigational track format requires column-vector variables for the

latitudes and longitudes of track waypoints. A waypoint is a point through
which a track passes, usually corresponding to a course (or speed)
change. Navigational tracks are made up of the line segments connecting
these waypoints, which are called legs. In this format, therefore, n legs
are described using n+1 way points, because an endpoint for the final leg
must be defined. In Mapping Toolbox navigation functions, angle units are
always in degrees.

Here, five track legs require six waypoints. In navigational track format,
the waypoints are represented by two 6-by-1 vectors, one for the
latitudes and one for the longitudes.

Fixing Position

The fundamental objective of navigation is to determine at a given

moment how to proceed to your destination, avoiding hazards on the
way. The first step in accomplishing this is to establish your current
position. Early sailors kept within sight of land to facilitate this. Today,
navigation within sight (or radar range) of land is called piloting. Positions
are fixed by correlating the bearings and/or ranges of landmarks. In real-
life piloting, all sighting bearings are treated as rhumb lines, while in fact
they are actually great circles.

Over the distances involved with visual sightings (up to 20 or 30 nautical

miles), this assumption causes no measurable error and it provides the
significant advantage of allowing the navigator to plot all bearings as
straight lines on a Mercator projection.

The Mercator was designed exactly for this purpose. Range circles, which
might be determined with radar, are assumed to plot as true circles on a
Mercator chart. This allows the navigator to manually draw the range are
with a compass.

To obtain a good navigational fix, your relationship to at least three

known points is considered necessary. A questionable or poor fix can be
obtained with two known points.
Some Possible Situations

In this imaginary coastal region, you take a visual bearing on the radio
tower of 270. At the same time, Gilligan's Lighthouse bears 0. If you
plot a 90-270 line through the radio tower and a 0-180 line through
the lighthouse on your Mercator chart, the point at which the lines cross
is a fix. Since you have used only two lines, however, its quality is
questionable.

But wait; your port lookout says he took a bearing on Cape Jones of
300. If that line exactly crosses the point of intersection of the first two
lines, you will have a perfect fix.

Triangle 1, 2 and 3 which forms a poor fix ia also called a cocked hat.
Whoops. What happened? Is your lookout in error? Possibly, but perhaps
one or both of your bearings was slightly in error. This happens all the
time. Which point, 1, 2, or 3, is correct? As far as you know, they are all
equally valid.

In practice, the little triangle is plotted, and the fix position is taken as
either the center of the triangle or the vertex closest to a danger (like
shoal water). If the triangle is large, the quality is reported as poor, or
even as no fix. If a fourth line of bearing is available, it can be plotted to
try to resolve the ambiguity. When all three lines appear to cross at
exactly the same point, the quality is reported as excellent or perfect.

Notice that three lines resulted in three intersection points. Four lines
would return six intersection points. This is a case of combinatorial
counting. Each intersection corresponds to choosing two lines to intersect
from among n lines.

The next time you traverse these straits, it is a very foggy morning. You
can't see any landmarks, but luckily, your navigational radar is operating.
Each of these landmarks has a good radar signature, so you're not
worried. You get a range from the radio tower of 14 nautical miles and a
range from the lighthouse of 15 nautical miles.

Now what? You took ranges from only two objects, and yet you have two
possible positions. This ambiguity arises from the fact that circles can
intersect twice.
Luckily, your radar watch reports that he has Cape Jones at 18 nautical
miles. This should resolve everything.

You were lucky this time. The third range resolved the ambiguity and
gave you an excellent fix. Three intersections practically coincide.
Sometimes the ambiguity is resolved, but the fix is still poor because the
three closest intersections form a sort of circular triangle.

Sometimes the third range only adds to the confusion, either by bisecting
the original two choices, or by failing to intersect one or both of the other
arcs at all. In general, when n arcs are used, 2x(n-choose-2) possible
intersections result. In this example, it is easy to tell which ones are
right.

Bearing lines and arcs can be combined. If instead of reporting a third

range, your radar watch had reported a bearing from the radar tower of
20, the ambiguity could also have been resolved. Note, however, that in
practice, lines of bearing for navigational fixing should only be taken
visually, except in desperation. A radar's beam width can be a degree or
more, leading to uncertainty.
As you begin to wonder whether this manual plotting process could be
automated, your first officer shows up on the bridge with a laptop and
Mapping Toolbox.

Using navfix

The navfix function can be used to determine the points of intersection

among any number of lines and arcs. Be warned, however, that due to
the combinatorial nature of this process, the computation time grows
rapidly with the number of objects. To illustrate this function, assign
positions to the landmarks. Point A, Cape Jones, is at (lat A, long A).
Point B, the radio tower, is at (lat B, long B). Point C, Gilligan's
Lighthouse, is at (lat C, long C).

For the bearing-lines-only example, the syntax is:

[lat fix, lon fix] = navfix ([latA latB latC],[lonA lonB lonC],...
[300 270 0])

This defines the three points and their bearings as taken from the ship.
The outputs would look something like this, with actual numbers, of
course:

latfix =
latfix1 NaN % A intersecting B
latfix2 NaN % A intersecting C
latfix3 NaN % B intersecting C
 lonfix =
lonfix1 NaN % A intersecting B
lonfix2 NaN % A intersecting C
lonfix3 NaN % B intersecting C

Notice that these are two-column matrices. The second column consists
of NaNs because it is used only for the two-intersection ambiguity
associated with arcs.

For the range-arcs-only example, the syntax is

[latfix,lonfix] = navfix([latA latB latC],[lonA lonB lonC],...

[16 14 15],[0 0 0])

This defines the three points and their ranges as taken from the ship. The
final argument indicates that the three cases are all ranges.

The outputs have the following form:

latfix =
latfix11 latfix12 % A intersecting B
latfix21 latfix22 % A intersecting C
latfix31 latfix32 % B intersecting C
lonfix =
lonfix11 lonfix12 % A intersecting B
lonfix21 lonfix22 % A intersecting C
lonfix31 lonfix32 % B intersecting C

Here, the second column is used, because each pair of arcs has two
potential intersections.

For the bearings and ranges example, the syntax requires the final input
to indicate which objects are lines of bearing (indicated with a 1) and
which are range arcs (indicated with a 0):

[latfix,lonfix] = navfix([latB latB latC],[lonB lonB lonC],...

[20 14 15],[1 0 0])

The resulting output is mixed:

 latfix =
latfix11 NaN % Line B intersecting Arc B
latfix21 latfix22 % Line B intersecting Arc C
latfix31 latfix32 % Arc B intersecting Arc C
lonfix =
lonfix11 NaN % Line B intersecting Arc B
lonfix21 lonfix22 % Line B intersecting Arc C
lonfix31 lonfix32 % Arc B intersecting Arc C

Only one intersection is returned for the line from B with the arc about B,
since the line originates inside the circle and intersects it once. The same
line intersects the other circle twice, and hence it returns two points. The
two circles taken together also return two points.

Usually, you have an idea as to where you are before you take the fix. For
example, you might have a dead reckoning position for the time of the fix
(see below). If you provide navfix with this estimated position, it chooses
from each pair of ambiguous intersections the point closest to the
estimate. Here's what it might look like:

[latfix,lonfix] = navfix([latB latB latC],[lonB lonB lonC],...

[20 14 15],[1 0 0],drlat,drlon)
latfix =
latfix11 % the only point
latfix21 % the closer point
latfix31 % the closer point
lonfix =
lonfix11 % the only point
lonfix21 % the closer point
lonfix31 % the closer point
A Numerical Example of using navfix
1. Define some specific points in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
These are strictly arbitrary; perhaps they correspond to points in
Atlantis:
2. lata = 3.1; lona = -56.2;
3. latb = 2.95; lonb = -55.9;
latc = 3.15; lonc = -55.95;
4. Plot them on a Mercator projection:
5. axesm('MapProjection','mercator','Frame','on',...
6. 'MapLatLimit',[2.8 3.3],'MapLonLimit',[-56.3 -55.8])
7. plotm([lata latb latc],[lona lonb lonc],...
8. 'LineStyle','none','Marker','pentagram',...
9. 'MarkerEdgeColor','b','MarkerFaceColor','b',...
'MarkerSize',12)
Here is what it looks like (the labeling and imaginary coastlines are
added after the fact for illustration).

10. Take three visual bearings: Point A bears 289, Point B bears 135,
and Point C bears 026.5. Calculate the intersections:
11. [newlat,newlong] = navfix([lata latb latc],[lona lonb lonc],...
 12. [289 135 26.5],[1 1 1])
13. newlat =
14. 3.0214 NaN
15. 3.0340 NaN
16. 3.0499 NaN
17. newlong =
18. -55.9715 NaN
19. -56.0079 NaN
-56.0000 NaN
20. Add the bearing lines and intersection points to the map:
21. plotm(newlat,newlong,'LineStyle','none',...
22. 'Marker','diamond','MarkerEdgeColor','r',...
'MarkerFaceColor','r','MarkerSize',9)

Notice that each pair of objects results in only one intersection, since
all are lines of bearing.
23. What if instead, you had ranges from the three points, A, B, and C,
of 13 nmi, 9 nmi, and 7.5 nmi, respectively?
1. [newlat,newlong] = navfix([lata latb latc],[lona lonb lonc],...
24. [13 9 7.5],[0 0 0])
25. newlat =
 26. 3.0739 2.9434
27. 3.2413 3.0329
28. 3.0443 3.0880
29. newlong =
30. -55.9846 -56.0501
31. -56.0355 -55.9937
-56.0168 -55.8413
Here's what these points look like:

Three of these points look reasonable, three do not.

32. What if, instead of a range from Point A, you had a bearing to it of
284?
33. [newlat,newlong] = navfix([lata latb latc],[lona lonb lonc],...
34. [284 9 7.5],[1 0 0])
35. newlat =
36. 3.0526 2.9892
37. 3.0592 3.0295
38. 3.0443 3.0880
39. newlong =
40. -56.0096 -55.7550
41. -56.0360 -55.9168
 -56.0168 -55.8413

Again, visual inspection of the results indicates which three of the six
possible points seem like reasonable positions.
42. When using the dead reckoning position (3.05N,56.0W), the
closer, more reasonable candidate from each pair of intersecting
objects is chosen:
43. drlat = 3.05; drlon = -56;
44. [newlat,newlong] = navfix([lata latb latc],[lona lonb lonc],...
45. [284 9 7.5],[1 0 0],drlat,drlon)
46. newlat =
47. 3.0526
48. 3.0592
49. 3.0443
50. newlong =
51. -56.0096
52. -56.0360
-56.0168
Planning

You know that the shortest path between two geographic points is a great
circle. Sailors and aviators are interested in minimizing distance traveled,
and hence time elapsed. You also know that the rhumb line is a path of
constant heading, the natural means of traveling. In general, to follow a
great circle path, you would have to continuously alter course. This is
impractical. However, you can approximate a great circle path by rhumb
line segments so that the added distance is minor and the number of
course changes minimal.

Surprisingly, very few rhumb line track legs are required to closely
approximate the distance of the great circle path.

Consider the voyage from Norfolk, Virginia (37N,76W), to Cape St.

Vincent, Portugal (37N,9W), one of the most heavily trafficked routes in
the Atlantic. A due-east rhumb line track is 3,213 nautical miles, while the
optimal great circle distance is 3,141 nautical miles.

Although the rhumb line path is only a little more than 2% longer, this is
an additional 72 miles over the course of the trip. For a 12-knot tanker,
this results in a 6-hour delay, and in shipping, time is money. If just three
rhumb line segments are used to approximate the great circle, the total
distance of the trip is 3,147 nautical miles. Our tanker would suffer only a
half-hour delay compared to a continuous rhumb line course. Here is the
code for computing the three types of tracks between Norfolk and St.
Vincent:

figure('color','w');
ha = axesm('mapproj','mercator',...
'maplatlim',[25 55],'maplonlim',[-80 0]);
axis off, gridm on, framem on;
setm(ha,'MLineLocation',15,'PLineLocation',15);
mlabel on, plabel on;
load coast;
hg = geoshow(lat,long,'displaytype','line','color','b');
% Define point locs for Norfolk, VA and St. Vincent Portugal
norfolk = [37,-76];
 stvincent = [37, -9];
geoshow(norfolk(1),norfolk(2),'DisplayType','point',...
'markeredgecolor','k','markerfacecolor','k','marker','o')
geoshow(stvincent(1),stvincent(2),'DisplayType','point',...
'markeredgecolor','k','markerfacecolor','k','marker','o')
% Compute and draw 100 points for great circle
gcpts = track2('gc',norfolk(1),norfolk(2),...
stvincent(1),stvincent(2));
geoshow(gcpts(:,1),gcpts(:,2),'DisplayType','line',...
'color','red','linestyle','--')
% Compute and draw 100 points for rhumb line
rhpts = track2('rh',norfolk(1),norfolk(2),...
stvincent(1),stvincent(2));
geoshow(rhpts(:,1),rhpts(:,2),'DisplayType','line',...
'color',[.7 .1 0],'linestyle','-.')
[latpts,lonpts] = gcwaypts(norfolk(1),norfolk(2),...
stvincent(1),stvincent(2),3); % Compute 3 waypoints
geoshow(latpts,lonpts,'DisplayType','line',...
'color',[.4 .2 0],'linestyle','-')

The resulting tracks and distances are shown below:

Mapping Toolbox provides the function gcwaypts to quickly calculate
waypoints in navigation track format in order to approximate a great
circle with rhumb line segments. It uses this syntax:

[latpts,lonpts] = gcwaypts(lat1,lon1,lat2,lon2,numlegs)

All the inputs for this function are scalars a (starting and an ending
position). The numlegs input is the number of equal-length legs desired,
which is 10 by default. The outputs are column vectors representing
waypoints in navigational track format ([heading distance]). The size of
each of these vectors is [(numlegs+1) 1]. Here are the points for this
example:

[latpts,lonpts] = gcwaypts(norfolk(1),norfolk(2),...
stvincent(1),stvincent(2),3) % Compute 3 waypoints
latpts =
37.0000
41.5076
41.5076
37.0000

lonpts =
-76.0000
-54.1777
-30.8223
-9.0000

These points represent waypoints along the great circle between which
the approximating path follows rhumb lines. Four points are needed for
three legs, because the final point at Cape St. Vincent must be included.

Now we can compute the distance in nautical miles (nm) along each track
and via the waypoints:

drh = distance('rh',norfolk,stvincent); % Get rhumb line dist (deg)

dgc = distance('gc',norfolk,stvincent); % Get gt. circle dist (deg)
% Compute headings and distances for the waypoint legs
 [course distnm] = legs(latpts,lonpts,'rh');

Finally, compare the distances:

distrhnm = deg2nm(drh) % Nautical mi along rhumb line

distgcnm = deg2nm(dgc) % Nautical mi along great circle
distlegsnm = sum(distnm) % Total dist along the 3 legs
rhgcdiff = distrhnm - distgcnm % Excess rhumb line distance
trgcdiff = distlegsnm - distgcnm % Excess distance along legs

distrhnm =
3.2127e+003

distgcnm =
3.1407e+003

distlegsnm =
3.1490e+003

rhgcdiff =
71.9980

trgcdiff =
8.3446

Following just three rhumb line legs reduce the distance travelled from 72
nm to 8.3 nm compared to a great circle course.

Track Lay down Displaying Navigational Tracks

Navigational tracks are most useful when graphically displayed.

Traditionally, the navigator identifies and plots waypoints on a Mercator
projection and then connects them with a straightedge, which on this
projection results in rhumb line tracks. In the previous example,
waypoints were chosen to approximate a great circle route, but they can
be selected for a variety of other reasons.

Let's say that after arriving at Cape St. Vincent, your tanker must
traverse the Straits of Gibraltar and then travel on to Port Said, the
northern terminus of the Suez Canal. On the scale of the Mediterranean
Sea, following great circle paths is of little concern compared to ensuring
that the many straits and passages are safely transited. The navigator
selects appropriate waypoints and plots them.

To do this with Mapping Toolbox, you can display a map axes with a
Mercator projection, select appropriate map latitude and longitude limits
to isolate the area of interest, plot coastline data, and interactively
mouse-select the waypoints with the inputm function. The track function
will generate points to connect these waypoints, which can then be
displayed with plotm.

For illustration, assume that the waypoints are known (or were gathered
using inputm). To learn about using inputm, see Interacting with
Displayed Maps, or inputm in the Mapping Toolbox reference pages.

waypoints = [36 -5; 36 -2; 38 5; 38 11; 35 13; 33 30; 31.5 32]

waypoints =
36.0000 -5.0000
36.0000 -2.0000
38.0000 5.0000
38.0000 11.0000
35.0000 13.0000
33.0000 30.0000
31.5000 32.0000
load coast
axesm('MapProjection','mercator',...
'MapLatLimit',[30 47],'MapLonLimit',[-10 37])
framem
plotm(lat,long)
 [lttrk,lntrk] = track(waypoints);
plotm(lttrk,lntrk,'r')

Although these track segments are straight lines on the Mercator

projection, they are curves on others:

The segments of a track like this are called legs. Each of these legs can
be described in terms of course and distance. The function legs will take
the waypoints in navigational track format and return the course and
distance required for each leg. Remember, the order of the points in this
format determines the direction of travel. Courses are therefore
calculated from each waypoint to its successor, not the reverse.

[courses,distances] = legs(waypoints)
courses =
90.0000
70.3132
90.0000
151.8186
98.0776
131.5684
distances =
145.6231
356.2117
283.6839
204.2073
 854.0092
135.6415

Since this is a navigation function, the courses are all in degrees and the
distances are in nautical miles. From these distances, speeds required to
arrive at Port Said at a given time can be calculated. Southbound traffic is
allowed to enter the canal only once per day, so this information might be
economically significant, since unnecessarily high speeds can lead to high
fuel costs.

Dead Reckoning

When sailors first ventured out of sight of land, they faced a daunting
dilemma. How could they find their way home if they didn't know where
they were? The practice of dead reckoning is an attempt to deal with this
problem. The term is derived from deduced reckoning.

Briefly, dead reckoning is vector addition plotted on a chart. For example,

if you have a fix at (30N,10W) at 0800, and you proceed due west for 1
hour at 10 knots, and then you turn north and sail for 3 hours at 7 knots,
you should be at (30.35N,10.19W) at 1200.
However, a sailor shoots the sun at local apparent noon and discovers
that the ship's latitude is actually 30.29N. What's worse, he lives before
the invention of a reliable chronometer, and so he cannot calculate his
longitude at all from this sighting. What happened?

Leaving aside the difficulties in speed determination and the need to tack
off course, even modern craft have to contend with winds and currents.
However, despite these limitations, dead reckoning is still used for
determining position between fixes and for forecasting future positions.
This is because dead reckoning provides a certainty of assumptions that
estimations of wind and current drift cannot.

When navigators establish a fix from some source, be it from piloting,

celestial, or satellite observations, they plot a dead reckoning (DR) track,
which is a plot of the intended positions of the ship forward in time. In
practice, dead reckoning is usually plotted for 3 hours in advance, or for
the time period covered by the next three expected fixes. In open ocean
conditions, hourly fixes are sufficient; in coastal pilotage, three-minute
fixes are common.

Specific DR positions, which are sometimes called DRs, are plotted

according to the Rules of DR:

DR at every course change

DR at every speed change
DR every hour on the hour
DR every time a fix or running fix is obtained
DR 3 hours ahead or for the next three expected fixes
DR for every line of position (LOP), either visual or celestial

For example, the navigator plots these DRs:

Notice that the 1523 DR does not coincide with the LOP at 1523. Although
note is taken of this variance, one line is insufficient to calculate a new
fix.

Mapping Toolbox includes the function dreckon, which calculates the DR

positions for a given set of courses and speeds. The function provides DR
positions for the first three rules of dead reckoning. The approach is to
provide a set of waypoints in navigational track format corresponding to
the plan of intended movement.

The time of the initial waypoint, or fix, is also needed, as well as the
speeds to be employed along each leg. Alternatively, a set of speeds and
the times for which each speed will apply can be provided. dreckon
returns the positions and times required of these DRs:

dreckon calculates the times for position of each course change,

which will occur at the waypoints
dreckon calculates the positions for each whole hour
If times are provided for speed changes, dreckon calculates positions
for these times if they do not occur at course changes

Imagine you have a fix at midnight at the point (10N,0):

waypoints(1,:) = [10 0]; fixtime = 0;

You intend to travel east and alter course at the point (10N,0.13E) and
head for the point (10.1N,0.18E). On the first leg, you will travel at 5
knots, and on the second leg you will speed up to 7 knots.

waypoints(2,:) = [10 .13];

waypoints(3,:) = [10.1 .18];
speeds = [5;7];

To determine the DR points and times for this plan, use dreckon:

[drlat,drlon,drtime] = dreckon(waypoints,fixtime,speeds);
[drlat drlon drtime]
ans =
10.0000 0.0846 1.0000 % Position at 1 am
10.0000 0.1301 1.5373 % Time of course change
10.0484 0.1543 2.0000 % Position at 2 am
10.1001 0.1801 2.4934 % Time at final waypoint

Here is an illustration of this track and its DR points:

However, you would like to get to the final point a little earlier to make a
rendezvous. You decide to recalculate your DRs based on speeding up to
7 knots a little earlier than planned. The first calculation tells you that you
were going to increase speed at the turn, which would occur at a time
1.5373 hours after midnight, or 1:32 a.m. (at time 0132 in navigational
time format). What time would you reach the rendezvous if you increased
your speed to 7 knots at 1:15 a.m. (0115, or 1.25 hours after midnight)?

To indicate times for speed changes, another input is required, providing

a time interval after the fix time at which each ordered speed is to end.
The first speed, 5 knots, is to end 1.25 hours after midnight. Since you
don't know when the rendezvous will be made under these
circumstances, set the time for the second speed, 7 knots, to end at
infinity. No DRs will be returned past the last waypoint.

spdtimes = [1.25; inf];

[drlat,drlon,drtime] = dreckon(waypoints,fixtime,...
speeds,spdtimes);
[drlat,drlon,drtime]
ans =
10.0000 0.0846 1.0000 % Position at 1 am
10.0000 0.1058 1.2500 % Position at speed change
10.0000 0.1301 1.4552 % Time of course change
10.0570 0.1586 2.0000 % Position at 2 am
10.1001 0.1801 2.4113 % Time at final waypoint

This following illustration shows the difference:

The times at planned positions after the speed change are a little earlier;
the position at the known time (2 a.m.) is a little farther along. With this
plan, you will arrive at the rendezvous about 4 1/2 minutes earlier, so
you may want to consider a greater speed change.

Back to Top

Drift Correction

Dead reckoning is a reasonably accurate method for predicting position if

the vehicle is able to maintain the planned course. Aircraft and ships can
be pushed off the planned course by winds and current. An important
step in navigational planning is to calculate the required drift correction.

In the standard drift correction problem, the desired course and wind are
known, but the heading needed to stay on course is unknown. This
problem is well suited to vector analysis. The wind velocity is a vector of
known magnitude and direction. The vehicle's speed relative to the
moving air mass is a vector of known magnitude, but unknown direction.
This heading must be chosen so that the sum of the vehicle and wind
velocities gives a resultant in the specified course direction. The ground
speed can be larger or smaller than the air speed because of headwind or
tailwind components. A navigator would like to know the required
heading, the associated wind correction angle, and the resulting ground
speed.

What heading puts an aircraft on a course of 250 when the wind is 38

knots from 285? The aircraft flies at an airspeed of 145 knots.

course = 250; airspeed = 145; windfrom = 285; windspeed = 38;

 [heading,groundspeed,windcorrangle] = ...
driftcorr(course,airspeed,windfrom,windspeed)

heading =
258.65

groundspeed =
112.22

windcorrangle =
8.65

The required heading is about 9 to the right of the course. There is a 33-
knot headwind component.

A related problem is the calculation of the wind speed and direction from
observed heading and course. The wind velocity is just the vector
difference of the ground speed and the velocity relative to the air mass.

[windfrom,windspeed] = ...
driftvel(course,groundspeed,heading,airspeed)

windfrom =
285.00

windspeed =
38.00

Time Zones

Time zones used for navigation are uniform 15 extents of longitude. The
time zone function returns a navigational time zone, that is, one based
solely on longitude with no regard for statutory divisions. So, for
example, Chicago, Illinois, lies in the statutory U.S. Central time zone,
which has irregular boundaries devised for political or convenience
reasons. However, from a navigational standpoint, Chicago's longitude
places it in the S (Sierra) time zone. The zone's description is +6, which
indicates that 6 hours must be added to local time to get Greenwich, or Z
(Zulu) time. So, if it is noon, standard time in Chicago, it is 12+6, or 6
p.m., at Greenwich.

Each 15 navigational time zone has a distinct description and

designating letter. The exceptions to this are the two zones on either side
of the date line, M and Y (Mike and Yankee). These zones are only 7-1/2
wide, since on one side of the date line, the description is +12, and on
the other, it is -12.

Navigational time zones are very important for celestial navigation

calculations. Although Mapping Toolbox does not contain any functions
designed specifically for celestial navigation, a simple example can be
devised.

It is possible with a sextant to determine local apparent noon. This is the

moment when the Sun is at its zenith from your point of view. At the
exact center longitude of a time zone, the phenomenon occurs exactly at
noon, local time. Since the Sun traverses a 15 time zone in 1 hour, it
crosses one degree every 4 minutes. So if you observe local apparent
noon at 11:54, you must be 1.5 east of your center longitude.
You must know what time zone you are in before you can even attempt a
fix. This concept has been understood since the spherical nature of the
Earth was first accepted, but early sailors had no ability to keep accurate
time on ship, and so were unable to determine their longitude. The
invention of accurate chronometers in the 18th century solved this
problem.

The timezone function is quite simple. It returns the description, zd, an

integer for use in calculations, a string, zltr, of the zone designator, and a
string fully naming the zone. For example, the information for a longitude
123E is the following:

[zd,zltr,zone] = timezone(123)
zd =
-8
zltr =
H
zone =
-8 H

Returning to the simple celestial navigation example, the center longitude

of this zone is:

-(zd*15)
ans =
120

This means that at our longitude, 123E, we should experience local

apparent noon at 11:48 a.m., 12 minutes early.

almanac

Parameters for Earth, planets, Sun, and Moon

Syntax
almanac
almanac(body)
data = almanac(body,parameter)
 data = almanac(body,parameter,units)
data = almanac(parameter,units,referencebody)

Description

almanac displays the names of the celestial objects available in the

almanac.

almanac(body) lists the options, or parameters, available for each

celestial body. Valid body strings are

'earth' 'pluto'
'jupiter' 'saturn'
'mars' 'sun'
'mercury' 'uranus'
'moon' 'venus'
'neptune'

data = almanac(body, parameter) returns the value of the requested

parameter for the celestial body specified by body.

Valid parameter strings are 'radius' for the planetary radius, 'ellipsoid' or
'geoid' for the two-element ellipsoid vector, 'surfarea' for the surface
area, and 'volume' for the planetary volume.

For the Earth, parameter can also be any valid predefined ellipsoid string. In this case, the two-
element ellipsoid vector for that ellipsoid model is returned. Valid ellipsoid definition strings for the Earth
are

'everest' 1830 Everest ellipsoid

'bessel' 1841 Bessel ellipsoid
'airy' 1849 Airy ellipsoid
'clarke66' 1866 Clarke ellipsoid
'clarke80' 1880 Clarke ellipsoid
'international' 1924 International ellipsoid
'krasovsky' 1940 Krasovsky ellipsoid
'wgs60' 1960 World Geodetic System ellipsoid
'iau65' 1965 International Astronomical Union ellipsoid
'wgs66' 1966 World Geodetic System ellipsoid
'iau68' 1968 International Astronomical Union ellipsoid
'wgs72' 1972 World Geodetic System ellipsoid
'grs80' 1980 Geodetic Reference System ellipsoid
'wgs84' 1984 World Geodetic System ellipsoid

For the Earth, the parameter strings 'ellipsoid' and 'geoid' are equivalent
to'grs80'.

data = almanac(body,parameter,units) specifies the units to be used for

the output measurement, where units is any valid distance units string.
Note that these are linear units, but the result for surface area is in
square units, and for volume is in cubic units. The default units are
'kilometers'.

data = almanac(parameter,units,referencebody) specifies the source of

the information. This sets the assumptions about the shape of the
celestial body used in the calculation of volumes and surface areas. A
referencebody string of 'actual' returns a tabulated value rather than one
dependent upon a ellipsoid model assumption. Other possible reference
body strings are 'sphere' for a spherical assumption and 'ellipsoid' for the
default ellipsoid model. The default reference body is 'sphere'.

For the Earth, any of the preceding predefined ellipsoid definition strings
can also be entered as a reference body.

For Mercury, Pluto, Venus, the Sun, and the Moon, the eccentricity of the
ellipsoid model is zero, that is, the 'ellipsoid' reference body is actually a
sphere.

Examples

The radius of the Earth (treated as a sphere) in kilometers is

almanac('earth','radius')

ans =
6371

The default ellipsoid model for the Earth ([semimajor axis eccentricity]) is
 almanac('earth','ellipsoid')

ans =
1.0e+03 *
6.3781 0.0001

Note that the radius returned for any ellipsoid model reference body is
the semimajor axis:

almanac('earth','radius','kilometers','ellipsoid')

Warning: Semimajor axis returned for radius parameter

ans =
6.3781e+03

Compare the tabulated values of the Earth's surface area with a spherical
assumption and with the 1966 World Geodetic System ellipsoid model:

almanac('earth','surfarea','statutemiles','actual')

ans =
1.969499232704451e+008

almanac('earth','surfarea','statutemiles','sphere')

ans =
1.969362058529953e+008

almanac('earth','surfarea','statutemiles','wgs66')

ans =
1.969371331484438e+008
Note that these values are so close that long notation is required to
differentiate them.

Some lunar measurements are

almanac('moon','radius')

ans =
1738

almanac('moon','surfarea')

ans =
3.7959e+07

almanac('moon','volume')

ans =
2.1991e+10

Remarks

Take care when using angular arc length units for distance
measurements. All planets have a radius of 1 radian, for example, and an
area unit of square degrees indicates unit squares, 1 degree of arc length
on a side, not 1-degree-by-1-degree quadrangles.

Great Circles, Rhumb Lines, and Small Circles

Great Circles

In plane geometry, lines have two important characteristics. A line

represents the shortest path between two points, and the slope of such a
line is constant. When describing lines on the surface of a spheroid,
however, only one of these characteristics can be guaranteed at a time.

A great circle is the shortest path between two points along the surface of
a sphere. The precise definition of a great circle is the intersection of the
surface with a plane passing through the center of the planet. Thus, great
circles always bisect the sphere. The equator and all meridians are great
circles. All great circles other than these do not have a constant azimuth,
the spherical analog of slope; they cross successive meridians at different
angles. That great circles are the shortest path between points is not
always apparent from maps, because very few map projections (the
Gnomonic is one of them) represent arbitrary great circles as straight
lines.

Because they define paths that minimize distance between two (or three)
points, great circles are examples of geodesics. In general, a geodesic is
the straightest possible path constrained to lie on a curved surface,
independent of the choice of a coordinate system. The term comes from
the Greek geo-, earth, plus daiesthai, to divide, which is also the root
word of geodesy, the science of describing the size and shape of the Earth
mathematically.

Rhumb Lines

A rhumb line is a curve that crosses each meridian at the same angle.
This curve is also referred to as a loxodrome (from the Greek loxos,
slanted, and drome, path). Although a great circle is a shortest path, it is
difficult to navigate because your bearing (or azimuth) continuously
changes as you proceed. Following a rhumb line covers more distance
than following a geodesic, but it is easier to navigate.

All parallels, including the equator, are rhumb lines, since they cross all
meridians at 90. Additionally, all meridians are rhumb lines, in addition
to being great circles. A rhumb line always spirals toward one of the
poles, unless its azimuth is true east, west, north, or south, in which case
the rhumb line closes on itself to form a parallel of latitude (small circle)
or a pair of antipodal meridians.

The following figure depicts a great circle and one possible rhumb line
connecting two distant locations. Descriptions and examples of how to
calculate points along great circles and rhumb lines appear below.
Small Circles

In addition to rhumb lines and great circles, one other smooth curve is
significant in geography and Mapping Toolbox: the small circle. Parallels
of latitude are all small circles (which also happen to be rhumb lines). The
general definition of a small circle is the intersection of a plane with the
surface of a sphere. On ellipsoids, this only yields true small circles when
the defining plane is parallel to the equator. In Mapping Toolbox, this
definition includes planes passing through the center of the planet, so the
set of all small circles includes all great circles as limiting cases. This
usage is not universal.

Small circles are most easily defined by distance from a point. All points
45 nm (nautical miles) distant from (45N,60E) would be the description
of one small circle. If degrees of arc length are used as a distance
measurement, then (on a sphere) a great circle is the set of all points 90
distant from a particular center point.

For true small circles, the distance must be defined in a great circle
sense, the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a
sphere. However, Mapping Toolbox also can calculate loxodromic small
circles, for which distances are measured in a rhumb line sense (along
lines of constant azimuth). Do not confuse such figures with true small
circles.
Computing Small Circles

You can calculate vector data for points along a small circle in two ways.
If you have a center point and a known radius, use scircle1; if you have a
center point and a single point along the circumference of the small circle,
use scircle2. For example, to get data points describing the small circle at
10 distance from (67N, 135W), use the following:

[latc,lonc] = scircle1(67,-135,10);

To get the small circle centered at the same point that passes through the
point (55N,135W), use scircle2:

[latc,lonc] = scircle2(67,-135,55,-135);

The scircle1 function also allows you to calculate points along a specific
arc of the small circle. For example, if you want to know the points 10 in
distance and between 30 and 120 in azimuth from (67N,135W),
simply provide arc limits:

[latc,lonc] = scircle1(67,-154,10,[30 120]);

When an entire small circle is calculated, the data is in polygon format.
For all calculated small circles, 100 points are returned unless otherwise
specified. You can calculate several small circles at once by providing
vector inputs. For more information, see the scircle1 and scircle2 function
reference pages.

An Annotated Map Illustrating Small Circles. The following Mapping

Toolbox commands illustrate generating small circles of the types
described above, including the limiting case of a large circle. To execute
these commands, select them all by dragging over the list in the Help
browser, then click the right mouse button and choose Evaluate
Selection:

figure;
axesm ortho; gridm on; framem on
setm(gca,'Origin', [45 30 30], 'MLineLimit', [75 -75],...
'MLineException',[0 90 180 270])
A = [45 90];
B = [0 60];
C = [0 30];
sca = scircle1(A(1), A(2), 20);
scb = scircle2(B(1), B(2), 0, 150);
scc = scircle1('rh',C(1), C(2), 20);
plotm(A(1), A(2),'ro','MarkerFaceColor','r')
plotm(B(1), B(2),'bo','MarkerFaceColor','b')
plotm(C(1), C(2),'mo','MarkerFaceColor','m')
 plotm(sca(:,1), sca(:,2),'r')
plotm(scb(:,1), scb(:,2),'b--')
plotm(scc(:,1), scc(:,2),'m')
textm(50,0,'Normal Small Circle')
textm(46,6,'(20\circ from point A)')
textm(4.5,-10,'Loxodromic Small Circle')
textm(4,-6,'(20\circ from point C')
textm(-2,-4,'in rhumb line sense)')
textm(40,-60,'Great Circle as Small Circle')
textm(45,-50,'(90\circ from point B)')

The result is the following display.

HM Nautical Almanac Office: Publications

Annual Publications

The Astronomical Almanac

The Nautical Almanac
Astronomical Phenomena
The Star Almanac for Land Surveyors
The UK Air Almanac

Non-Annual Publications

NavPac and Compact Data

Rapid Sight Reduction Tables for Navigation (3 volumes)
Planetary and Lunar Coordinates

Related Publications

Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac

Out of Print Publications

AstroNavPC and Compact Data (Willmann-Bell Inc.)

US edition of NavPac and Compact Data 2001-2005.
The RGO Guide to the 1999 Total Eclipse of the Sun (Papworth
Press)
Totale Sonnenfinsternis 11. August 1999 (Kernow Plusfile)
German edition of The RGO Guide to the 1999 Total Eclipse of the
Sun.
Eclipse Totale De Soleil 11 aot 1999 (Kernow Plusfile)
French edition of The RGO Guide to the 1999 Total Eclipse of the Sun

Introduction
These days, it's possible to buy a compact GPS receiver for less than a
sextant. No bulky sight reduction tables or nautical almanacs are
required, you can determine your location instantly, and some will even
plot your course on an electronic map. With that kind of technology
available, it might seem like a waste of time to read a pamphlet on
celestial navigation. What's the point, anyway?

Of course, there are all the standard excuses that old mariners give for
holding on to their sextants: what if the batteries in your GPS die, or
what if the GPS satellites go offline? Those are good practical reasons, but
I think there is more to the value of celestial navigation. There is
convenience in the quick glance at a glowing GPS readout, but that
convenience might only serve as another blow for alienation. What is that
vapid stare compared to the feeling of salt spray on your face while
measuring the declinations of celestial bodies throughout the heavens?
What about the awareness and anticipation of that perfect moment at
twilight, just right for taking sights, when the waning light still illuminates
the horizon and the planets are becoming visible in the sky? What about
the day to day knowledge of how the planets are moving across the
heavens, when exactly local noon occurs, and the intrinsic feeling that
you are navigating your dreams by the stars?

Certainly GPS is nice to have, but for me celestial navigation is wrapped

up in DIY and a connectedness with the world which strikes back against
spectatorship and alienation. If you feel potential for the same, hopefully
this pamphlet will help you along the way.

First Principles

The Sextant: A tool for measuring angles between observable objects. In

the context of celestial navigation, those bodies are most often a celestial
object (the sun, a star, a planet) and the horizon.
Geographical Position (GP): The point
on earth that a celestial body is directly above. If you draw a line from
the center of the earth to a celestial body, the point where that line
intersects the earth's surface is the geographical position. GP is measured
by 'declination' and 'hour angle'.

Ex: Here, 'x' is the GP of the sun.

Declination: The declination of a celestial object is just the latitude of its

GP. Declination is measured exactly as latitude is: in degrees north or
south of the equator. The declination of the sun moves from 23N (Tropic
of Cancer) to 23S (Tropic of Capricorn) throughout the year.

Hour Angle: Hour angle is the 'longitude' complement to declination

when measuring GP. Greenwich Hour Angle (GHA) is the amount of time
that has elapsed since a celestial body passed the Greenwich meridian. If
you're standing on the Greenwich meridian and the sun is directly south,
its GHA is 0. Two hours later, its GHA will be two hours. Its GHA will
continue to grow through 23 hours until noon the next day, when it will
become zero again. GHA can be measured in degrees past the Greenwich
meridian as well (up to 360). So hour angle is different from longitude in
two ways: it can be measured in time, and when it is measured in
degrees it goes up to 360 in the westerly direction, instead of 180 east
or west.

Local Hour Angle: Hour Angle doesn't have to be measured from the
Greenwich meridian. When it is measured from the meridian that you (the
observer) are on, it is known as the Local Hour Angle (LHA). Simple
equations for translating GHA to LHA:

When east of Greenwich: LHA = GHA + observer's longitude

When west of Greenwich: LHA = GHA - observer's longitude

The Nautical Almanac: Published annually, these need to be updated

every year. They give GPs (in GHA and declination) of celestial bodies at
every second throughout the year. They also hold additional information
about sunrise, sunset, and the phases of the moon.

The Zenith: This is the point immediately above your head. It makes an
angle of 90 between you and the horizon.

Altitude: The angle between a celestial object, an observer, and the

horizon. From your perspective, this is the height of a celestial object
above the horizon.

Zenith Distance:

The complement to altitude. Ex: altitude + zenith distance will always

equal 90.

Azimuth: The bearing (true not magnetic) from an observer to a

heavenly body.

The Theory

Zenith Distance And Latitude

It turns out that you can learn some interesting things from zenith
distance. In this diagram, two parallel rays from the sun hit the earth.
One at an observer's position, and one at the sun's GP:
 What's interesting is that the angle
between the zenith and the first ray at the surface of the earth is the
same as the angle between the zenith and the second ray at the center of
the earth. This means that the zenith distance which you observe is the
same number of degrees as the distance between the GP and you. Since
1' = 1 nautical mile, zenith distance * 60 = the distance between you and
the GP of the object you're observing.

If the object that you're observing happens to be directly above your

meridian of longitude, that distance + the object's declination = your
parallel of latitude. Declination is something that you can look up in a
nautical almanac for most celestial bodies at any given moment, and the
sun will predictably cross your meridian of longitude at local noon. This
means that you can easily determine your latitude at noon every day.

Determining Longitude At Noon

Now that we know how to determine our latitude at noon, it would be nice
if we could also discover our longitude. As the sun approaches its high
point in the sky, begin to take a series of sights, marking the time of each
sight taken. The altitude you measure will get larger, hang for a minute
or so, and then begin to get smaller. Wait until the sun falls to the
altitude of your very first site, determine the difference in time between
the last and first site, add half that to the time of the first site, and that
was the exact moment of local noon. The sun's GP moves 15 every
hour, so look up the time of local noon at Greenwich in a nautical
almanac, determine the number of minutes between then and now, divide
that by 4 to get the number of miles between your longitude and
Greenwich, and divide that by 60 to get your longitude in degrees. Now
we have a method for easily determining both our latitude and longitude
at local noon.
Position Circles

Let's say that you use a sextant to take a

sight of the sun, and its altitude is 90 (your zenith). With absolute
certainty, there is only one place on the earth that you could possibly be:
the sun's GP. As the sun continues to move across the sky, however, its
altitude will lessen. As this happens, your number of possible positions
will grow into a 'position circle' with the sun's GP at its center, and a
number of equidistant points around it. Given an observed altitude, all
you know is that you're somewhere on the position circle. The circle gets
larger and larger the lower the observed altitude.

Position Lines

The trick is to narrow the number of

possible positions on the Position Circle by plotting your azimuth to the
celestial object. If the celestial object is to the SW of the observer, than
the observer must be on the NE portion of the Position Circle. There is no
way, however, to obtain an azimuth so accurate that you can determine
your exact position on the circle. The best you can do is draw a line at
right angles to the azimuth, knowing that you are somewhere on the
tangent of the position circle and that line.

Spherical Triangles

Drawing a position circle isn't easy. There

are enormous distances involved, so we'd need a really big chart and a
really big compass to draw the required circle with the celestial body's GP
at the center. In order to get the Position Line that we want, we use
spherical triangles to find what's known as an Intercept. We have a
celestial body's observed altitude and need to know where we are. But
when using spherical triangles, we pretend that we don't have the
celestial body's altitude and do know where we are. The assumed latitude
and longitude are called an 'assumed position' (AP).

Here 'Z' is the observer's assumed latitude, and 'X' is the GP of the
celestial body. We know the length of PZ = 90 - the assumed latitude.
We know the length of PX = 90 - the celestial body's declination. We
know that the angle ZPX is the Local Hour Angle. Since we know two
sides and an angle of a triangle, we can use spherical trigonometry to
solve for the length of ZX and the other two angles. 90 - ZX = altitude,
or what's known as the Calculated Altitude. The angle PZX will be the
azimuth. Had the assumed position been a perfect guess, the calculated
altitude would be the same as the observed altitude. If it's not, the
difference between the calculated altitude and observed altitude is the
Intercept, as specified in nautical miles.
Plotting An Intercept

Drawing a position line is now as easy as plotting the calculated azimuth

through the assumed position, walking the value of the Intercept up the
azimuth line, and drawing the position line at a right angle. We're
somewhere on that line.

The Fix

This position line stuff is interesting, but it'd be a hell of a lot nicer if we
could find out exactly where we are. The solution is to plot multiple
position lines and see where they intersect. There are two ways to do
this.

Multiple Sights

The best way to get a fix is to take multiple sights off multiple celestial
objects. This is possible during the day when the moon has already risen,
or at twilight when the planets are already visible. It is, of course,
possible at night when all the stars are in the sky -- but it might be
difficult to see the horizon then.
The Running Fix

If all you have is the sun, it's possible to take a Running Fix. The idea is
to plot a position line off the sun, wait for your azimuth to the sun to
change (a few hours usually), plot a second position line, and then
advance the first position line the distance you've traveled. If you've
traveled 45nm at a bearing of 67 between the first and second sight,
draw a line at 67 through any point on the first position line, measure up
45nm, and re-plot the first position line at that point. Your fix is where
the advanced and second position lines intersect.

The Practice

The steps for plotting a position line are:

1. Use a sextant to observe the altitude of a celestial body.

2. Using the exact time of your observation, look up the GP for
that celestial body in the Nautical Almanac.
3. Assume a position.
4. Solve the spherical triangle between your assumed position,
the celestial body's GP, and the closest pole.
5. Use the results of the spherical triangle to determine the
difference between the calculated altitude and your observed
altitude.
6. Plot that difference as an intercept on a chart.

Using The Sextant

Look through the sextant at the horizon and adjust the sextant's index
arm until the celestial body is visible in the silvered portion of the view
finder. Slowly adjust the index arm until the bottom of the celestial object
is touching the horizon. Either call out to a time keeper, or quickly look at
your watch. Record the time and altitude.

It is now necessary to correct the observed altitude for instrument error,

our height above sea-level, refraction, and semi-diameter.

To account for instrument error, slide the index arm to 0 and look
through the view finder. If the sextant has no error, the horizon should be
perfectly aligned in the silvered and unsilvered portions of the view finder.
If they are not aligned, adjust the index arm until they are. Subtract the
number of minutes on the index arm from the observed altitude to get an
observed altitude corrected for instrument error.

To account for height above sea level, estimate the height of the boat and
the height of the sextant above deck (approximately the height of the
observer). In the Nautical Almanac, on the right side of the 'Altitude
Correction Tables -- Moon' page, there is a table labeled 'Dip'. Lookup
your estimated height, and subtract the value in the 'Corr' column from
the observed altitude to get observed altitude corrected for height above
sea level.

To account for refraction and semi-diameter, look at the 'Altitude

Correction Tables' page in the Nautical Almanac. Since you measured the
lower limb against the horizon, look up the observed altitude in the table
and subtract the 'lower limb' column from the observed altitude to get
observed altitude corrected for refraction and semi-diameter.

Combining all of these corrections gets you a usable observed altitude

(abbreviated Ho).

Finding The GP Of A Celestial Object

Each page in the body of the Nautical Almanac provides information for
three days. The tables list the GHA and declination of Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, and the moon for every hour. Find the page for
the day you took the sight, then record the GHA and declination for the
hour in which you took the sight. Also note the value of 'd' (located at the
bottom of the Sun and planets columns, but in-line in the moon column).

At the back of the Nautical Almanac, there are a series of pages labeled
'Increments And Corrections.' Each page has a table for a given minute,
with each row containing values for that second. Find the page for the
minute in which you took your observation, and add the value in the
column for the second in which you took your observation to the
previously looked-up GHA. Next, look at the right three columns on the
same page. These are actually one long table. Find the value of 'd' on the
left side, and record the value on the right side as the 'declination
correction.' You either add or subtract this to the previously looked-up
declination depending on whether it is in a place where the values of the
column are either increasing or decreasing. You now have the GHA and
declination which specify the GP of the celestial object in the moment that
you observed it.

Now you know that you're somewhere on a circle that has a radius of
(90 - observed altitude) x 60 nm with the GP at its center. But we can
do better.

Assuming A Position

For reasons which will soon become clear, your assumed position needs
to be a whole number of degrees in latitude, and a longitude which makes
the LHA of the celestial body a whole number of degrees as well.
Choosing your AP latitude is as easy as picking the nearest latitude
degree to your Deduced Reckoning position. Choosing your AP longitude
is as easy as picking the nearest longitude to your Deduced Reckoning
position, which when added or subtracted to GHA will produce an even
LHA.

Ex: If your DR position is 2734'.4N, 0825'E and the GHA you just
looked up is 33701', your AP Lat would be 27 and your AP Long would
be 759'E, such that the LHA is an even 34500'.

Solving The Spherical Triangle

As it turns out, spherical trigonometry is not the kind of math that we can
do on our fingers. As such, we use a series of tables (called Sight
Reduction Tables) to help us solve the spherical triangle. Each row in the
tables contains a previously worked out solution to a different
permutation of spherical triangle. This is why the LHA and AP Lat must be
a whole number of degrees: there are only so many possible
permutations that the tables can contain.

Each page for a given AP Latitude has solutions for a range of GP

declinations that are either of 'same' or 'contrary' name. If the AP latitude
and GP declination that you're looking up are in the same hemisphere,
then you should look on the 'same name' page. Otherwise, use the
'contrary name' page. Look in the row for the degree of GP declination,
under the column of your calculated LHA. Record the Calculated Altitude
(Hc), the value of 'd', and the azimuth. In the back of the book, in the
table labeled 'Correction To Tabulated Altitude For Minutes Of
Declination,' look up the row containing the value of 'd' under the column
containing the minutes of your GP declination. Add this value to the
previously looked-up Calculated Altitude (Hc) to get the correct value for
Hc.

Plotting The Intercept

The difference between the Calculated Altitude and Observed Altitude is

the intercept. Draw a line through the AP on a bearing of the calculated
azimuth, measure off the intercept distance along the azimuth line, and
draw a line at a right angle to the azimuth line at that point. You now
have a position line.

This may seem like a series very confusing operations, but really it's just
8 addition or subtractions and 4 table lookups. Attached is a worksheet to
help you work through a sight, step-by-step.

Celestial Navigation

Celestial Navigation is the art and science of using celestial bodies such as
the Sun, Moon, planets and stars to determine an observer's position on
Earth. This web page will explain the some of the math behind celestial
navigation, and will provide the reader with a easy to use method
determining position.

Contents:
1. The Celestial Sphere
2. The Astronomical Triangle
3. Lines of Position
4. References and Postscript Code
 Figure 1

The Celestial Sphere is an essential concept of celestial navigation. Figure

1 depicts a celestial sphere centered on an observer on Earth. For our
purposes the celestial sphere can be constructed of arbitray radius, here
shown to be AK. Some definitions that will come in handy later on are
given below.

Plumb Line: If we take the Earth (shown in brown) to be a sphere, then

the radius AC represents the plumb line direction for the observer.

Zenith: The point directly above the observer on the celestial sphere is
called the Zenith. The point opposite the zenith, or directly below the
observer on the celestial sphere is called the nadir (not shown here).

Observer's Horizon: The plane tangent to the earth's surface at A

(shown in pink) and perpendicular to the plumb line is the plane of the
true or mathematical horizon of the observer.

Compass Points: The line NS and the line perpendicular to NS along E

determine the main directions or the points of the compass for the
observer.

Celestial Projection: The straight line AC' represents the direction to a

celestial body C'. cf is the projection of C' on the celestial sphere.
Celestial Equator: The plane passing through the celestial sphere that is
parallel to Earth's equater is the Celestial Equator (K is on the celestial
equator in Figure 1).

Celestial axis and poles: The axis through the center of the celestial
sphere perpendicular to the celestial equator is the celestial axis. The
poles are at either end of this axis, corresponding to the Earth's poles (P N
is the celestial north pole, Pn is the actual north pole).

Elevated Pole: The celestial pole that corresponds to the earth pole that
is in the same hemisphere (N or S) as the observer. In Figure 1, PN is the
elevated pole.

Vertical Circles: Circles passing through the zenith and nadir points are
called Verticle Circles.

Meridians: Circles passing through both celestial poles are called

Celestial Meridians, they correspond to meridians on the Earth (lines of
longitude) which pass through both the north and south pole. The
observer's meridian on the celestial sphere is the circle passing through
KZPN.

Hour Angles: Hour angles are the spherical angle, or the arc of the
celestial equator between two meridians. The local hour angle of the body
C' above is the arc between the observer's meridian and the meridian
passing through cf. Local hour angles are denoted tloc
 Figure 2

If the celestial sphere is drawn to be centered at the center of Earth then

the latitude ()and longitude () of the observer can be found by using
the celestial sphere. Latitude is the arc or angle subtended from the
closest point on the equator to the observer's zenith. The latitude is
followed with a letter N or S depending which hemisphere the observer's
meridian is located in.

0 < < 90
Longitude is the arc or angle subtended from the Greenwich Meridian
(GM) to the observer's meridian.
0 < < 180.

The GM is the meridian dividing the earth into two hemispheres, east and
west - much the same as the equator divides the earth into a north and
south hemisphere. The longitude is followed with a letter E or W
depending which hemisphere the observer's meridian is located in.
 Figure 3

Two useful coordinates of a particular location are the Azimuth (A) and
the Altitude (h). If we have a celestial body (denoted by the yellow star in
Figure 3) on the celestial sphere, then it's azimuth is the arc of the
celestial horizon which lies between the observer's meridian and the
vertical circle of the body. A can be given in a few ways. For our purposes
A should be measured from the north or south points towards east or
west, whichever gives

0 < A < 90
For example, in Figure 3 the azimuth is 65oNE.The altitude of the body is
the arc of it's vertical circle from the celestial horizon to the place of the
body on the sphere.
0 < h < 90
As a coordinate, h can be replaced by zenith distance (z).
z = 90 - h.
 Figure 4

Two other important coordinates are declination () and the Greenwich

Hour Angle (GHA). The declination of the celestial body (the body is
denoted by star on Figure 4) is the arc of the body's meridian from the
celestial equator to the place of the body on the sphere. In this respects
the declination and latitude of the body are similar. However:

-90 < < 90

If the body is in the same hemisphere (N or S) as the elevated pole then
is positive, otherwise is negative. The polar distance () is the
complementary to the declination:
= 90 -
= 90 -

The Greenwich Hour Angle is the arc on the celestial equator between the
Greenwich Meridian and the celestial meridian of the body. It is called the
hour angle because due to earth's rotation, 15 degrees of longitude
corresponds to 1 hour. ie: if the celestial sphere remained stationary and
centered on earth while the earth rotated, the GHA of the celestial body
would increase by 15 degrees every hour.

0 < GHA < 360

Solnavigation

Naeve, A, Solar Navigation

Solbanor
Earth in Space

Earth ecliptic Earth magnetic field Retrograde motion

Earth
A gift from the Past...

I will begin by drawing a general Diagram on the Plane of the Meridian. This sketch illustrates a case with
the observer (Navigator) in approximate Latitude 15 North:

Z is the zenith
N and S are the
intersections of the North and
South points of the horizon
with the meridian.
Pn and Ps are the Poles
Q' and Q mark the
intersections of the Equator
with the meridian.

This Diagram continues a thought from the previous Appendix , which you
may wish to review if this diagram isn't making sense to you.

That logical thought is:

Since the Pole is elevated from the horizon by a number of degrees

equal to Latitude, and
Since the Equator is always 90 degrees from the Poles, then

The Celestial Equator is depressed from the Zenith a number of

degrees equal to Latitude.

How interesting! If we had a means of knowing where the Equator

crossed in our sky, we could always know our Latitude directly. Of course,
the sky doesn't have some great line painted on it to mark the Equator,
so we need something that exists in the physical universe on our
Meridian which has a definite relationship to the Celestial Equator. That
of course leads us directly to the million-dollar idea...
Objects in the sky have known declinations. Remember that a
"declination" is simply the North-South relationship of a body to the
Celestial Equator. So the only thing that remains is to get the body on our
Meridian! That will of course happen once each day, as the sky seems to
turn in its endless westward movement over our heads. In principle, we
could use an observation of any object as it crosses our meridian;
however, in practice, the Sun is used since most celestial objects are
invisible during the day, and the horizon itself is invisible during the night
and we seldom have the luck to catch some object exactly on the
meridian at twilight, when we have both stars and a horizon.

When the Sun crosses our meridian, this event is called "noon"; and so an
observation of the Sun at this time, formally called local apparent noon, is
known as the "Noon Sight".

Determining Latitude by the Noon Sight is simplicity itself. We merely

observe the Sun when we believe the time is near noon. We keep
observing every minute or so, watching the Sun climb ever higher, until
at some point it seems not to climb anymore--noon! We note the time at
which this final observation was made, and it need not be accurate down
to the second. We consult the Nautical Almanac to determine the Sun's declination at
the time of observation, and we are ready to draw our Diagram on the Plane of the Meridian. In this example,
we will consider ourselves to be in the Northern Hemisphere during Winter. A typical Diagram may look like
this:
 Z is the zenith
N and S are the intersections
of the North and South points
of the horizon with the
meridian.
Pn and Ps are the Poles
Q' and Q mark the
intersections of the Equator
with the meridian.

Since it is Winter, the Sun is in

South Declination, which is
below the Equator in this
Diagram.

How easily we can see the relationship between Latitude, Altitude, and
Declination! The sketch shows that these 3 angles will exactly fill that 90
degrees between horizon and zenith. No trig involved!!

A similar Diagram for Summer shows that relationship, too:

 Z is the zenith
N and S are the intersections
of the North and South points of
the horizon with the meridian.
Pn and Ps are the Poles
Q' and Q mark the
intersections of the Equator with
the meridian.

Since it is Summer, the Sun is in

North Declination, which is above
the Equator in this Diagram.

Now we see how to construct these Diagrams on the Plane of the Meridian
for everyday use:

Draw the circle with the zenith to the top and the horizon as the
diameter perpendicular to it.
Draw the Pole elevated from the horizon by your Latitude.
Draw the Equator perpendicular to the axis of the Earth.
Draw in the Declination of the Sun, either North or South of the
Equator.
Study the diagram to find which relationship will add to exactly 90
degrees.

And in this way, people were able to determine Latitude at sea without
highly accurate clocks, and without reference to computers, tables, or
elaborate mathematics beyond the grasp of the uneducated mariners
from long ago...
The last Appendix (as of November 1996, anyway) will deal with the basis
of the formulas used for a general solution of altitudes and azimuth,
regardless of whether the body is on the meridian or not.

The intense mathematics...

Well, not really. Since I don't know any intense mathematics, you will find
only the basics here.

It is easiest to begin on familiar ground and then proceed into the Unknown, so let us begin by thinking of
right triangles in the plane. These were the familiar kind from high school and traditional favorite of civil
engineers. When we want to know "everything there is to know" about any triangle, we conclude that there
are six bits of information to tell the whole story: the lengths of the 3 sides and the measurements of the 3
angles. Of course, in a right triangle, 1 of the angles is spoken for--it is a right angle of exactly 90 degrees.
This leaves 5 things yet to discover about any particular right triangle. We all remember those days of
geometry and trigonometry when we first learned that the remaining 5 parameters may not be just any
values; rather, they are constrained by special relationships that help us turn one choice of one piece of
information into a definite conclusion about some other piece of information. A summary of some useful
relationships may be found in this diagram:

A right triangle in the plane has many

useful relationships between its 3 sides
and 2 base angles.

I prefer to use capital Latin letters for

sides, and lower case Latin letters for
angles.

So much for the familiar...now let us consider something new.

Specifically, what happens when we look in the sky at a familiar formation

of stars such as the Summer Triangle, which has the bright stars Deneb,
Vega, and Altair as its vertices? Well, in posing the question I answered
it: we see something that looks like it "ought to be" a triangle. Of course
it isn't really, because it is not in one flat plane. Instead, it is a curved
region of the Celestial Sphere which happens to have 3 corners.

If you want to see a down-to-earth example of this phenomenon, go peel

an orange. Cut a large piece of peel from it, and give that piece 3
corners. You will see that you can't really pound it flat on a table top (not
a big piece, anyway) without it tearing. You can't take such a piece that is
a 3-dimensional curve and flatten it to 2 dimensions without ruining it.
Yet from its very "3-corneredness" we feel like this ought to behave as a
triangle.

As things turn out of course, it is a special sort of triangle which we refer

to as a spherical triangle. Spherical triangles also have 6 parameters: 3
angles, which are the corners of our orange peel, and 3 sides, which are
really segments of 3 circles. This last point is really crucial to seeing the
difference between plane triangles and spherical triangles. When we are
solving spherical triangles for Navigation, we have no means of
measuring the lengths of their sides. Since this is the case, when we refer
to the "sides" of a spherical triangle, we are actually speaking of the
central angles that subtend the sides of our spherical triangle. This is
something we can measure since we are standing at the center of the
Celestial Sphere, the Earth, and looking outward to those triangles. We
call a spherical triangle a right spherical triangle when one of its 3
vertices is a right angle. An example of a right angle in a sphere occurs
where any meridian cuts the Equator-- they meet at 90 degrees, a right
angle.

After all this talk, it must be time for a diagram:

Here is spherical right triangle
with a "Circle of 5 Parts" to help
find relationships.

We don't have relatively simple

formulas to get relationships, as
we do with plane right triangles.
In fact, spherical triangles have
an elaborate set of relationships
that would be almost impossible
to memorize, so the great
mathematician Napier devised
this clever and handy way to
find them instead.

We draw a circle and divide it

into 5 wedges. We pick one of
the dividing lines to represent
the right angle, which I have
done by making it bold. Then
we "work our way around" the
triangle, dropping each bit of
information in turn into each
wedge. In the 2 wedges next to
the right angle, parameters are
taken "as is", but for the
remaining 3 wedges, we take
the complement of the
parameters. To find
relationships, pick a wedge with
some parameter of interest in
it, and take the sine of that
wedge. It will be equal to the
product of the tangents of the
"adjacent" 2 wedges, as well as
the product of the cosines of
the "opposite" 2 wedges. Then
applying trig Identities
simplifies the answer.

In Celestial Navigation we are

not interested in the "adjacent"
wedges, so I omitted the
tangent-cotangent relationship
from the final answer.

You will see the reason for this

in a few moments...

So at this point it is natural to wonder, why is this of advantage to the

Navigator?

Frankly, in his everyday work it isn't--That is how it ended up in an

"Appendix for further information" instead of being in the Main Pages with
the essentials. However, it is important in a broader sense because it is
the theoretical groundwork which allows for us to compute altitudes for
any celestial body, regardless of whether it is on our meridian or not.
When we say the object is not on our meridian, that means that its
vertical circle is not the same as our principal vertical circle; that is, its
azimuth will be some value besides due North or due South. It also
implies that its hour circle is not on our meridian either.

Since its hour circle is not on our meridian, obviously, there must be
some angle between our meridian and its hour circle. (Remember the
Diagram on the Plane of the Equator?) If we measure this angle only
westward from our meridian, we call it LHA. But it is sometimes more
convenient to measure eastward for bodies that are still rising. When we
do this, we call the angle the meridian angle and denote it t, because it is
intimately related to time. Methods of sight reduction that involve direct
computation, rather than a table look-up, tend to invoke meridian angle
more than LHA, because trig tables are written for angles less than 90,
but LHA is between 270 and 360 for bodies which are rising. I have
introduced t because it makes the diagram simpler, but keep in mind that
when I write t, I could as easily say it is LHA--they refer to the same
thing.

There is no easy way to do this, so let us just plunge right in...

 What a busy diagram! Try not to be
overwhelmed, and we will go
through it all bit-by-bit.

Our "god's-eye" viewpoint is from

directly above our meridian, which
appears as a vertical line. At
present we are interested in only
that quarter of it which runs from
the Pole, P, to the Equator, which
we already know can be used
synonymously with Celestial
Equator. We know from studying
our Diagrams on the Plane of the
Meridian that the "distance" along
the meridian from zenith, Z, to
Equator is exactly our Latitude, L.
In this case, we are observing a star
which is in Declination of the SAME
name as our Latitude (Think of
them as both North, or both South,
as you prefer.) Its hour circle is
shown as the left-hand edge of the
sketch, and we know it has a
declination above the Equator,
Dec., so the distance remaining to
the Pole along its hour circle must
be (90 - Dec).

In this diagram, I have made no attempt to depict the horizon, but we

know that the star appears somewhere above it just the same. We will
see the star in some vertical circle at altitude H. My zenith is always 90
degrees from the horizon, so the "distance" along the vertical circle from
the body to my zenith must certainly be (90 - H), as sketched in. Then we
come to an interesting complication.

Let us return to those familiar plane triangles from high school for a
moment. You of course remember that a right triangle is only one special
case of triangles in general. We have a set of rules for solving general
triangles, but they are not as neat as the rules for right triangles.
Therefore, when we came to a general triangle that looked too nasty to
deal with, our teachers told us time and again: "Drop a perpendicular" to
split the ugly general triangle into 2 neat right triangles.

So it is with spherical triangles. We typically get general spherical

triangles in celestial navigation problems. Although there are rules for
solving such general spherical triangles, I don't know any; so we are
going to use the old procedure of "drop a perpendicular" to split our
general spherical triangle into a pair of right spherical triangles. This is
the meaning of the arc marked R. It is drawn from the body to our
meridian, and intersects our meridian at right angles in declination K. In
actuality, this intersection can be either "above" or "below" the zenith
depending on the circumstances of the observation: I just drew it "above"
for purposes of illustrating only one case. The possibility of other cases
gives rise to that really awkward notation: (K ~ L), which means "take
either the sum of K and L, or the difference between K and L, as
appropriate for the case at hand."

The last noteworthy item on the busy diagram is the 2 small angles which
I have named e and f. Taken together, they are the parallactic angle,
which is actually of no consequence to the Navigator, mainly because
there is no way for the Navigator to conveniently measure it, and it is not
needed for the solution of altitude and azimuth, which is all we desire for
the altitude-intercept method. These two small angles are important now,
though, because they represent pieces of spherical triangles which we
must avoid in our calculations, if possible, since we cannot measure them
and we are not interested in making work for ourselves by solving for
information without an immediate practical value. In fact, we would
prefer not to solve for R and K since they don't really help our navigation
any. Unfortunately, we cannot avoid them.

Now that we understand the diagram, the rest is fairly easy. We just draw
a Circle of 5 Parts for each of the 2 right spherical triangles we have
created and write down the correct trigonometric relationships.
This Circle of 5 Parts is for the upper
right spherical triangle. We construct it
by simply following the same rules we
used for the general right spherical
triangle.

I have shaded the wedge containing the

unknown angle f as a reminder that we
want to avoid it.

Notice that a convenient thing happens.

We have information that is known,
namely Declination and meridian angle
(or LHA, as you prefer) which allows us
to determine the perpendicular, R.

With that in hand, we also get the

declination of the perpendicular, K

Notice that these two equations invoke

only "opposite" wedges in order to avoid
the shaded wedge; thus, we do not need
tangent-cotangent relationships.
This Circle of 5 Parts is for the lower
right spherical triangle.

I have shaded the wedge containing the

unknown angle e as a reminder that we
want to avoid it.

Latitude and K work together with R to

reveal for us the goal of this whole
exercise: H, which in the altitude-
intercept problem we call Hc

This explains why we could not avoid R

and K, even though they aren't "the
answer" we seek-- they are
intermediates necessary to bridge from
the upper triangle of data we know, to
the lower triangle of data we desire to
know.
 Strangely enough, we see altitude is
used to compute azimuth in our 4th and
final equation. Now we have both
altitude and azimuth, which is all we
needed for the altitude-intercept
method, so we are done!

Please note that the azimuth number

computed this way will not really be Zn,
which means "azimuth from True
North", in all cases. I simply used the
notation to avoid confusion with the Z
for zenith. Anyone using the formulas
would also need rules for converting the
computed azimuth to True Azimuth in
cases when it is necessary. That is
another set of rules I will skip on my
Web Pages.

"Philosophy and Farewell"

If you have come with me this far, I admire your tenacity and depth of
understanding in this subtle and beautiful world we call Celestial
Navigation. You are now among the Keepers of the Lore, those who
understand an ancient mathematical discipline which states for us an
unexpected humanistic Truth:

You do have a place in the World, and indeed; objects in the farthest
reaches of the Universe have some very personal relationship to your
exact place.

"I wish you a pleasant voyage."

 The Compass Rose takes you to the top page...just in case a
Search Engine dropped you in the middle of all this!

Another way to slice the sphere...

Welcome to the first celestial navigation appendix! In this document, we

will take an idea we saw in the Main Pages and apply it to a new way.
Truth is, this is really an old way--it was used to find Latitude at sea long
before the invention of the chronometer paved the way for the
development of the altitude-intercept method. In addition, learning this
technique is a superb way to understand the relationships between
coordinate systems, so it will be well worth your time!

First, remember how we constructed our old friend, the Diagram on the
Plane of the Equator. We imagined that we were looking at the Earth from
high above the South Pole, and simply sketched what we would see from
there; namely, our meridian, the Greenwich meridian, and hour circles of
any celestial bodies circling the Earth. To make a Diagram on the Plane of
the Meridian, we will do something similar.

Imagine that we are still a very long distance from the Earth, looking down upon it. This time, imagine that
we are out somewhere above the Equator. Now how would we sketch what we see? As a circle again, of
course! Only this time, the Earth appears to be sliced in half along an entire meridian, through both poles.
When we draw the Diagram then, the North Pole is at the top of the circle, the South Pole at the bottom. The
diameter of the circle between the 2 poles is therefore the Earth's axis. Then drawing-in the diameter
perpendicular to the Earth's axis is clearly the Equator. The sketch looks like this:
 Pn and Ps are the Poles
Q' and Q mark the
intersections of the Equator
with the meridian.

Although this diagram holds true for any meridian, in practical work we
are concerned solely with what happens on our own meridian. So
imagine that we are standing somewhere along the circle. For present
purposes, we will presume ourselves to be standing in the Northern
Hemisphere, on the right-hand branch of the meridian.

Now that we have that picture in mind, let us think of another very
similar picture. Only in this case, instead of showing the Latitude-
Longitude coordinate system of the Earth, let us instead depict the
altitude-azimuth coordinate system of the Navigator. We will be slicing
the entire celestial sphere in half along our principal vertical circle, more
commonly called the celestial meridian by Navigators. Remember from
the Page on coordinate systems that we are allowed to think of the
principal vertical circle as a "meridian in the sky", or our meridian as a
"vertical circle on the Earth" because they are both running from exactly
North to exactly South and hence one lies exactly over the other. If we
take our "god's-eye" view as being far to the West of the Earth, we get a picture like this:
 Z is the zenith
N and S mark the intersections of
the North and South points of the
horizon with the celestial meridian.
The dashed line points down
directly from the Navigator to the
nadir.

Now a most remarkable thing happens if we consider that we can project

our diagram of the Earth outward onto the sky. Specifically, we see that
our meridian and our principal vertical circle exactly superimpose; or said
another way, both the diagrams are really showing the exact same
meridian!

This means we get to see relationships between the poles of the Earth,
the Equator of the Earth, our Zenith, and our Horizon.

To illustrate, consider a familiar case--our original lighthouse example.

This time, rather than standing at the bottom of a lighthouse, we will be
standing exactly on the North Pole. So of course, our lighthouse beacon is
then the North Star, Polaris.

We will sketch-in everything: our horizon, our zenith, the North Pole, the
South Pole and the Equator. When we have finished, the picture, formally
known as a Diagram on the Plane of the Meridian, looks like this:
 Z is the zenith, which
happens to be the North
Pole.
N and S mark the
intersections of the
North and South points
of the horizon, which
just happens to be the
Equator, with the
celestial meridian.
The dashed line
points down directly
from the Navigator to
the nadir, which happens
to be the South Pole.

It is natural to ask at this point: What happens if we are not standing on

the North Pole?

To answer this question, let us consider another extreme case. This time,
we will go from the North Pole 90 degrees due South and stand on the Equator. Recall
that important result from the Introductory lighthouse problem: the spot directly over your head is always
directly over your head. With this in mind, we realize that now the Celestial Equator would be in the zenith,
since we are standing on the Earth's Equator and we know that the Celestial Equator "matches" it exactly. So
the Diagram on the Plane of the Meridian is easy to draw:
 Z is the zenith,
which happens to be
the Celestial Equator.
N and S mark the
intersections of the
North and South points
of the horizon, which
just happen to be the
Poles, with the celestial
meridian.
The dashed line
points down directly
from the Navigator to
the nadir, which
happens to be the
Equator on the
"opposite side" of the
Earth.

After these two examples, we can see a crucial point:

When we are standing at Latitude 90 degrees, the altitude of the

North Star and hence the elevated pole is 90 degrees.
When we are standing at Latitude 0 degrees, the altitude of the North
Star and hence the elevated pole is 0 degrees.

This leads to a crucial general rule:

The elevated Celestial Pole always has an Altitude equal to your

Latitude.

(You may even notice that the word "Latitude" is an anagram on the word
"Altitude"! Wow!!!)

This is a most important theoretical point we learn from the Diagram on

the Plane of the Meridian. It is the basis of finding Latitude by observation
of Polaris (for which tables may be found in the Nautical Almanac , but we
will not consider it in these Web Pages.) But for practical work, we find a
much more common application on the next Page...
A gift from the Past...

I will begin by drawing a general Diagram on the Plane of the Meridian. This sketch illustrates a case with
the observer (Navigator) in approximate Latitude 15 North:

Z is the zenith
N and S are the
intersections of the North and
South points of the horizon
with the meridian.
Pn and Ps are the Poles
Q' and Q mark the
intersections of the Equator
with the meridian.

This Diagram continues a thought from the previous Appendix , which you
may wish to review if this diagram isn't making sense to you.

That logical thought is:

Since the Pole is elevated from the horizon by a number of degrees

equal to Latitude, and
Since the Equator is always 90 degrees from the Poles, then
The Celestial Equator is depressed from the Zenith a number of
degrees equal to Latitude.

How interesting! If we had a means of knowing where the Equator

crossed in our sky, we could always know our Latitude directly. Of course,
the sky doesn't have some great line painted on it to mark the Equator,
so we need something that exists in the physical universe on our
Meridian which has a definite relationship to the Celestial Equator.

Objects in the sky have known declinations. Remember that a

"declination" is simply the North-South relationship of a body to the
Celestial Equator. So the only thing that remains is to get the body on our
Meridian! That will of course happen once each day, as the sky seems to
turn in its endless westward movement over our heads. In principle, we
could use an observation of any object as it crosses our meridian;
however, in practice, the Sun is used since most celestial objects are
invisible during the day, and the horizon itself is invisible during the night
and we seldom have the luck to catch some object exactly on the
meridian at twilight, when we have both stars and a horizon.

When the Sun crosses our meridian, this event is called "noon"; and so an
observation of the Sun at this time, formally called local apparent noon, is
known as the "Noon Sight".

Determining Latitude by the Noon Sight is simplicity itself. We merely

observe the Sun when we believe the time is near noon. We keep
observing every minute or so, watching the Sun climb ever higher, until
at some point it seems not to climb anymore--noon! We note the time at
which this final observation was made, and it need not be accurate down
to the second. We consult the Nautical Almanac to determine the Sun's declination at
the time of observation, and we are ready to draw our Diagram on the Plane of the Meridian. In this example,
we will consider ourselves to be in the Northern Hemisphere during Winter. A typical Diagram may look like
this:
 Z is the zenith
N and S are the intersections
of the North and South points
of the horizon with the
meridian.
Pn and Ps are the Poles
Q' and Q mark the
intersections of the Equator
with the meridian.

Since it is Winter, the Sun is in

South Declination, which is
below the Equator in this
Diagram.

How easily we can see the relationship between Latitude, Altitude, and
Declination! The sketch shows that these 3 angles will exactly fill those 90
degrees between horizon and zenith. No trig involved!!

A similar Diagram for Summer shows that relationship, too:

 Z is the zenith
N and S are the intersections
of the North and South points of
the horizon with the meridian.
Pn and Ps are the Poles
Q' and Q mark the
intersections of the Equator with
the meridian.

Since it is Summer, the Sun is in

North Declination, which is above
the Equator in this Diagram.

Now we see how to construct these Diagrams on the Plane of the Meridian
for everyday use:

Draw the circle with the zenith to the top and the horizon as the
diameter perpendicular to it.
Draw the Pole elevated from the horizon by your Latitude.
Draw the Equator perpendicular to the axis of the Earth.
Draw in the Declination of the Sun, either North or South of the
Equator.
Study the diagram to find which relationship will add to exactly 90
degrees.