Tag Archives: navigation

The Retrograde and Prograde Motions of Mars and Jupiter

Posted on September 15, 2019 by Jack Case

Mars We can best understand  the retrograde and prograde motions of Mars by considering the planet’s motion relevant to distant stars.  To do this, we must study the effect of the motions of both the Earth and Mars around the … Continue reading →

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The Purpose of Altitude and Azimuth Angle in Position Finding at Sea

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Jack Case

To fully understand how the azimuth angle and the altitude of a celestial body help us to establish our position, we need to consider them in relation to the celestial sphere. Consider the diagram below: The celestial sphere is drawn … Continue reading →

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Planning Star and Planet Sights

Posted on May 11, 2019 by Jack Case

Fixes from Sightings of Stars and Planets.  There are 59 navigational stars and 4 navigational planets which we can use to achieve position fixes. However, there are only two short periods during the day in which we can do this … Continue reading →

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The Importance of Morning and Evening Star Sights – Part 2

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Jack Case

The ‘Where To Look’ Method. Devised by Jack Case                          HOME In part 1 of this series, we discussed how we can establish whether or not a selected star  … Continue reading →

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The Importance Of Morning And Evening Star Sights

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Jack Case

Part 1 – Checking to see which stars and planets will be above the observer’s horizon during Nautical Twilight. By Jack Case Introduction. The Astronomical Position Line.  A position line is a line drawn on a nautical chart along which … Continue reading →

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Stars For All Seasons Part 6

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Jack Case

Winter Stars in the Northern Hemisphere “Know The Stars And You Will Always Have A Compass”.    (Michael Punk. 2002. The Revenant)   As we move into winter, new constellations take their place in the night sky of the northern hemisphere … Continue reading →

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Stars For All Seasons Part 4

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Jack Case

Circumpolar Stars In The Southern Hemisphere. In the previous article of this series, we discussed circumpolar stars of the Northern Hemisphere and  in this article we will look at some of the circumpolar constellations in the Southern Hemisphere. Centaurus is the … Continue reading →

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Stars For All Seasons – Part 2

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Jack Case

Summer Stars in the Northern Hemisphere  Winter Stars in the Southern Hemisphere “Know The Stars And You Will Always Have A Compass”.    (Michael Punk. 2002. The Revenant) In the last article, we discussed Rotation (the reason the stars seem to rise … Continue reading →

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In Defence of Mer Pas

Posted on March 27, 2018 by Jack Case

The noon sight for latitude is a method of calculating latitude from the altitude of the sun at the instant it crosses your meridian and for this reason, the method is also known as ‘Meridian Passage’ or ‘Mer. Pas’.  I … Continue reading →

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Why Astro?

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Jack Case

In a recent article the discussion centred on our over-reliance on GPS for navigation at sea and the need for back-up systems.  The conclusion drawn was that we already have a back-up system, one that has been tried and tested … Continue reading →

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