MODULENO.

1 MODULE NAV4
TI
TLE CELESTI
ALNAVIGATI
ON

COMPETENCE/
S
A-
II
/1F1.
C1KUP1Pl
anandconductapassageanddet
ermi
neposi
ti
on
CO1:Pl
otshi
psposi
ti
onusi
ngobser
vat
ionof(
3)t
hreest
arsdur
ing
twi
l
ight
COURSEOUTCOME
CO2:
Det
ermi
necompasser
rorbyobser
vat
ionofsun’
sampl
i
tude
KNOWLEDGE
A-I
I/
1F1.C1.
KUP6.
2Abi
l
ityt
ousecel
est
ialbodi
est
odet
ermi
ne
UNDERSTANDING
posi
ti
on
PROFI
CIENCY

LEARNI
NGOUTCOME LO1.1Dis
cusstheusesofthedif
fer
entcel
est
ialbodi
esusedin
navi
gat
ionusi
ngtherel
evantinf
ormati
on,
char
tsandotherpubl
icat
ion

TOPI
C Cel
est
ial
Nav
igat
ion

LESSONPRESENTATI
ON &ACTI
VITI
ES

Tofindthepositi
onofashiporaircr
aftby 
celest
ialnavi
gati
on,thenavigat
ormeasur eswit
h
a 
sextant 
theapparenthei
ghtofacelesti
albodyabov ethehori
zon,andnot est
hetimefrom
a 
mar i
nechronomet er
.Thathei
ghtiscompar edwiththeheightpr
edictedforatri
alposi
ti
on;
t
hear
cmi nutesofheightdif
fer
enceishow manynaut icalmilestheposi
tionli
nei sf
rom thet
ri
al
posi
ti
on.

Sampl
eimagesofmar
inechr
onomet
er
 Ter
msandDef
ini
ti
ons

A naut icalal manac  i

sapubl i
cat i
ondescr i
bingtheposit
ionsofasel ecti
onof  celesti
albodi es for
thepur poseofenabl ingnavi
gatorst ouse 
celest
ial
navi
gation 
todetermi
net heposi ti
onoft hei
rshi p
whi l
eatsea.TheAl manacspeci fiesforeachwhol ehouroft heyeartheposi tionont heEar th's
surface( in decl inat i
on and 
Greenwi ch 
hourangle)atwhi
cht he 
sun, 
moon, planets and f
ir
stpoi ntof
Aries[clarificationneeded] 
i
sdi r
ect
lyov erhead.Thepositi
onsof57sel ect
ed st
ars arespeci f
iedr elat
ivet o
the f
irstpoi ntofAr i
es.
Todet ermi neaposi ti
onont heEar th'ssur face,i
ti snecessar yandsuf f
icienttoknow
the latit
ude,  
longit
ude, and al
tit
ude.Al t
itudeconsi der ationscannat ural
lybei gnoredf orvessels
oper atingat  sealev el
.Unt i
l t
hemi d-1750s, accur ate nav i
gat i
on at sea outofsi ghtoflandwasan
unsol vedpr oblem duet othedi f
fi
cul tyincal cul
at i
ngl ongi tude.Nav i
gatorscoul ddeter minethei
r
l
at i
tudebymeasur ingt hesun' sangl eatnoon( i.
e. ,wheni treachedi t
shi ghestpointint hesky,
or culmi nation)or, i
nt heNor thernHemi sphere,tomeasur etheangl eofPol ari
s( t
heNor t
hStar)
from t hehor i
zon( usual l
ydur i
ng twili
ght ).Tof i
ndt heir  
l
ongi tude, howev er,theyneededat ime
standar dt hatwoul dwor kaboar dashi p.Obser v ationofr egularcel esti
al motions,suchas  Gal
il
eo's
met hod  basedonobser vi
ng Jupiter'snat uralsatel l
ites, wasusual lynotpossi bleatseaduet othe
ship'smot ion.The  lunardistancesmet hod, i
nit
iallypr oposedby  JohannesWer ner 
in1514, was
dev elopedi npar allelwi t
hthemar inechr onomet er .TheDut chsci entist
 GemmaFr i
sius wasthef i
rst
topr oposet heuseofachr onomet ert odet erminel ongi tudei n1530.
Thepur poseofachr onomet erist omeasur eaccur at
elythet imeofaknownf ixedlocat i
on,for
exampl e Greenwi chMeanTi me (GMT) .Thisi spar ti
cularl
yimpor tantfornavigation.Knowi ngGMT
atlocal noon  all
owsanav igatort ouset het imedi f
ferencebet weent heship'spositionand
the Greenwi chMer idi
an t
odet ermi net heshi p'
sl ongitude.Ast heEar throt
atesatar egularrate,
the
ti
medi f
ferencebet weent hechr onomet erandt heshi p'
slocal ti
mecanbeusedt ocal cul
atethe
l
ongi t
udeoft heshipr el
ati
v etot he Greenwi chMer idi
an (definedas0° )using spheri
cal
tri
gonomet ry.Inmoder npractice,a nautical al
manac  andtrigonomet ricsi
ght-reductiontables
permitnav igat orst
omeasur ethe Sun, Moon, visibl
e planets,oranyof57  selectedst arsfor
navigation 
atanyt i
met hatthehor i
zoni svisible.
Thecreat
ionofatimepi
ecewhichwouldworkrel
i
abl
yatseawasdif
fi
cul
t.Unt
ilt
he20thcent
ury
,
thebestt
imekeeperswer
e pendul
um cl
ocks,
butbot
htherol
l
ingofashi
patseaandtheupto0.2%
v
ari
ati
onsint
he 
grav
ityofEar
th 
madeasi
mpl
egr
avi
ty-
basedpendul
um usel
essbot
hint
heor
yand
i
npract
ice
Nauti
calAl
manacisatypeofnavi
gat
ionai
d,whichdescri
bestheposi
tionofcel
esti
albodi
est
o
assi
stnavi
gat
orsatseat
odetermi
nethei
rshi
p’sposi
tionusi
ngcelest
ialnav
igat
ion.

Thenaut
icalal
manaccont ainsastr
onomi caldat
afort
heenti
rey
earwhi
chassi
ststhenav
igat
orin
maki
ngastronomical
calculati
onsonshi p.Readi
ngthebul
l
etpoi
ntswi
ll
beeasi
erifonehasthe
al
manacopeni nf
rontforeasyr ef
erence.

Anaut i
calalmanacusesthetimeposi t
ionaspert heGMT(Greenwi
chMeridi
anTime)alongwit
h
thepositi
onoftheearthtocalculat
eandpr edi
ctthesea-
rout
es.Theposi
ti
onofthesun,themoon,
theotherplanet
sand57mai nstarsarealsousedalongwit
htheGMTandt heeart
h’sposit
iont
o
calcul
atethepotent
ialnavi
gati
onal r
outes.

 Thei
nsi
deoft
hef
rontcov
erhast
abl
esf
ort
hecor
rect
ionofal
ti
tudesofSun,
star
sand
pl
anet
s.Thepageaf
tert
hatpr
ovi
dest
abl
esf
orl
owal
ti
tudesofobser
vat
ionsf
ort
hesame

 Thenextpagehasdat
aaboutr
efr
act
ional
cor
rect
ions

 Thef
oll
owi
ngpagehasal
i
stofcont
ent
soft
heal
manac,
acal
endaroft
hephasesoft
he
Moon,t
heyear
’scal
endar
,mapsandnot
eswhi
chgi
vei
nfor
mat
ionaboutt
heoccur
renceof
ecl
i
psesov
ertheyear

 Ont
opl
anetnot
esanddi
agr
am f
ort
hey
eart
hatshowsLMToft
hemer
idi
anpassageoft
he
SunandtheplanetsMercur
y,Venus,
Mars,Jupit
erandSat
urn.Thedi
agram i
ndi
cat
esper i
od
wheneachplanetist
ooclosetotheSunforobserv
ati
onandwhenplanetsarev
isi
ble.I
talso
gi
vesanindi
cationoft
hepositi
onoftheplanet
sattwil
i
ght

 Thent
her
eisanephemer
isf
ort
hewhol
eyearcal
cul
atedagai
nstGMTanddat
es.Eachpai
rof
f
aci
ngpagescont
aini
nfof
ort
hreeday
sregar
ding:

o ARI
ES:
 GHAf
orAr
iesgi
venhour
lyandt
heGMTofi
tsGr
eenwi
chmer
passt
imef
ort
he
middl
eday.GMTofGreenwichmer
passforprecedi
ngandsucceedi
ngdat
escanbe
obtai
nedbyaddi
ngorsubt
racti
ngr
espect
ivel
y

o PLANETS:
 TheGHAanddecl
i
nat
ionoft
hepl
anet
sVenus,
Mar
s,Jupi
terandSat
urnar
e
gi
venhourl
yalongwitht
hei
rmagni
tudesandtheir‘v
’and‘
d’cor
rect
ionsasappl
i
cabl
e
andthei
rSHAat0000hours.GMTofthemiddledateandGMToft heirGr
eenwi
ch
merpassonthatdat
earegi
venbel
owt hest
artables.

o STARS:
 TheSHAsanddecl
i
nat
ionof57st
arsar
epr
ovi
ded(
val
i
dforal
lthr
eeday
s)

o SUN:
 GHAanddecl
i
nat
iongi
venf
oreachhour
o MOON:
 GHA,
decl
i
nat
ionand‘
v’and‘
d’cor
rect
ionsandhor
izont
alpar
all
axv
aluesar
e
pr
ovi
dedf
oreachhour
 Phot
obyar
nphot
o/deposi
tphot
os

 Expl
anat
ionsar
egi
vent
hatexpl
aint
hear
rangementandt
hepr
inci
plebehi
ndt
heal
manac
alongwit
hexampl estoshowtheappropr
iat
euseofthei
nformati
onwit
hint
healmanac.
Thereareinst
ructi
onsgi
ventoexpl
aintheusageoft
hecurrenty
ear’
sal
manacforusagei
n
thefol
l
owingy earaswell

 Tabl
esar
egi
vent
odi
ff
erent
iat
eandunder
standGMTandt
hest
andar
dti
mesacr
osst
he
wor
ld

 St
archar
tsar
epr
ovi
dedf
ort
hei
dent
if
icat
ionofal
lthei
mpor
tantst
arswi
thr
espectt
o
navi
gat
ion.Magnit
udeofthestar
sal
ongwit
hthei
rconst
ell
ati
onsi
nwhi
cht
heybel
ongal
ong
wit
hSHAs, decl
i
nati
onaregiv
enforeachmont
h

 ThePol
ari
stabl
egi
vet
hea0,
a1,
a2cor
rect
ionst
obeappl
i
edt
othet
rueal
ti
tudeofPol
ari
sto
obtainthelat
it
udear
elai
dout.Thereisal
soatabl
etoobt
aint
heAzimuthofPol
ari
s.Cl
ear
explanati
onsfort
heusageofthesetabl
esar
elai
doutal
ongwithexampl
es

 Tabl
efort
heconv
ersi
onofar
ctot
imei
sal
sogi
ven
  I
ncr
ementandcor
rect
iont
abl
esar
erequi
redt
oobt
aint
heGHAoft
heSun,
Planet
s,Ar
iesand
Moonaswel
last
hedecl
i
nat
ionsofSun,
Moonandpl
anet
s

 I
nter
pol
ati
onst
abl
esar
egi
venf
orusagei
ncal
cul
ati
ngt
heLMTofsunr
ise,
sunset
,twi
l
ight
,
moonr
ise,
moonsetandMoon’smerpassforther
equir
edlati
tude.Ther
earetwot
abl
est
he
f
ormerist
heabovement
ionedandt
hel at
teri
sforcal
culat
ingthelongi
tude

 Thei
ndext
othe57st
arsgi
vest
henumber
,magni
tude,
SHAanddecl
i
nat
ionoft
hesest
arsi
n
t
her
ightor
der

 Al
ti
tudecor
rect
iont
abl
esf
ort
heMoonhav
ecor
rect
ionst
obeappl
i
edt
ocal
cul
ateobser
ved
al
ti
tudesoft
heMoon’
supperorl
owerl
i
mbs

Twooft hemostrel
iabl
eandfamousal
manacsthatar
epublishedunti
ltodayar
eGr eatBr
it
ain’
sThe
Nauti
calAlmanacpubli
shedbyHMSNauti
calAl
manacOf f
icesincethe18thcentur
yandUnited
St
ates’almanacpubli
shedbyUSNaval
Obser
vatorysi
ncethe19thcentury.

Apartf r
om thesetwoal manacs, t
herearesev eralothernauti
calalmanacspublishedaroundthe
world.Butonlytheset woal manacsar ereferredasbei ngoffi
cial
.Theothersaremost l
yknownas
al
manacst hathav ebusinessorcommer cialvalue.Theear l
i
estpubli
cati
onoft hesetypesof
al
manacsst art
edar oundt helate19thcentury .Moreover,t
herearealsosmallerandabr i
dged
nauticalal
manacst hatavail
ablebutitisbesti foneinvestsinabiggeralmanac.Amongmanyot her
sources,af r
eealmanacf orcelesti
alnavi
gat i
oncanbef ound
at 
https://
www. thenauti
calalmanac.com/ .Ifonewi shestodownl oadacopyoft henautical
al
manac2017, t
heycangeti t
 here.

Anaut
icalal
manacisnotsomethi
ngthati
sknowntoever
yper
son.Buti
nter
msofmar i
net
rav
el,i
t
i
sli
ketheBibl
e.Nauti
cal
almanachasbeenusedbysai
l
orssi
nceagesandcont
inuest
odosoeven
i
nthi
stechnologi
cal
l
yadvancedage.

htt
ps:
//www.mar
inei
nsi
ght
.com/
mar
ine-
nav
igat
ion/
how-
naut
ical
-al
manac-
hel
ps-
in-
mar
ine-
navi
gat
ion/
 Cr
edi
ts:
wiki
pedi
a.or
g
Adeviceknownast hesextant
 i
susedtofindthelocat
ionandposi ti
onofapar ti
cularst
arorthe
moonorapl aneti
nt hevi
sibl
eskyl
i
ne.Wi t
hthehelpofadev iceknownast hemarinechronomet er
theti
meoft heposi
tionofthi
spart
icul
arstarorthemoonorapl anetisf
oundout .Thisnotedti
me
andthelocati
onarethenfoundint
healmanact omar kthesea-routetobef ol
l
owed.Thev aluei
s
alwaysapproxi
matebecauseofthemar gi
noferrorswhileusingthesextantandthechronomet er.
 [
1]Whatnewinf
ormat
ionhav
eIlear
nedfr
om t
heact
ivi
ti
es?
[
2]Whatsur
pri
sedmeaboutwhatIl
ear
ned?

.
Det
ermi
net
heshi
p’
sposi
ti
onusi
ngt
heappr
opr
iat
ecel
est
ialbodi
es

Ref
erences(
APA)

htt
ps:
//www.mar
inei
nsi
ght
.com/
mar
ine-
nav
igat
ion/
how-
naut
ical
-al
manac-
hel
ps-
in-
mar
ine-
navi
gat
ion/

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tps:
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ube.
com/
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v=4x
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tps:
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