Nautical Almanac

1
 Why Nautical Almanac?
• Geographical position (GP) of a body
can be determined for any given time
and date by getting declination (DEC)
and Greenwich Hour Angle (GHA) from
Nautical Almanac

GP

2
 Why Nautical Almanac?
Reducing a celestial sight to obtain a line of position
using the tables consists of six steps:
1. Correct the sextant altitude (Hs) to obtain observed
altitude (Ho).
2. Determine the body’s GHA and declination (dec.).
3. Select an assumed position (AP) and find its local
hour angle (LHA).
4. Compute altitude and azimuth for the AP.
5. Compare the computed and observed altitudes.
6. Plot the line of position.

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 Nautical Almanac
• Nautical Almanac contains more
explanatory data than is contained in this
section; students are encouraged to refer
to Almanac.

4
 Nautical Almanac
Nautical almanac is a publication describing the
positions of a selection of celestial bodies for the
purpose of enabling navigators to use celestial
navigation to determine the position of their ship while at
sea.
The Almanac specifies for each whole hour of the year
the position on the Earth's surface (in declination and
Greenwich hour angle) at which the sun, moon, planets
and first point of Aries is directly overhead.
The positions of 57 selected stars are specified relative
to the first point of Aries. (SHA)

5
Review of
celestial
coordinate
Declination and
system Parallel of Declination

Parallel of
Declination

A circle parallel to the celestial equator. Bodies are considered to

travel along the parallel of declination as the earth rotates. It is
similar to a parallel of latitude on the Earth.
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Review of
celestial
coordinate
system

7
Meridian which you are on GHA & LHA
at the time

E W LHA=GHA+EAST λ
LHA=GHA-WEST λ
Long
G

GHA
Pn

LHA

8
 Rewiev of
celestial
coordinate
system

GHA = SHA + GHAγ

(If the resulting GHA is greater than 360°,

subtract 360°.)

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10
We are not using this but correct
W G W G
M M

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 Nautical Almanac
In almanac motion of bodies calculated as;
Sun and planets : 15⁰ per hour.
Aires and stars : 15⁰ 02’,46” per hour.
Moon : 14 ⁰ 19’ per hour.

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 Nautical Almanac
Daily pages: (Left side)
Each double page contains data for 3 successive days
At top of page is year, month, day and days of the week
for the 3 days listed
At left side of each page GMT listed for each of 3 days
Table consists of information on main celestial bodies
such as Aries, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and stars.
Each page includes three days for a specific year. The
time values are given in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
sometimes called as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).

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 Nautical Almanac
• We can obtain GHA (Greenwich Hour
Angle), declination values for celestial
bodies apart from stars.
• As the stars are very too far away, SHA
(Sidereal Hour Angle) and declination
of stars do not remarkably change for
three days.
• GHA = SHA + GHAγ

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 MAGNITUDE

GMT
Hours
Nautical Almanac Degrees &
min. of arc

57 stars
listed

SHA & DEC

DAYS

GHA :& DEC

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16
 Nautical Almanac
Daily pages: (Right side)
 
That table consists of information on Sun and Moon.
Each page includes three days for a specific year. The
time values to obtain GHA (Greenwich Hour Angle) and
declination of Sun and Moon are given as GMT
(Greenwich Mean Time) sometimes called as UT.
There are also “v” and “d” correction values for GHA
(Greenwich Hour Angle) and declination of Moon. The
right column of the table consists of the time values on
twilight, sunset, sunrise, moonset and moonrise as LMT
(Local Mean Time) in accordance with the latitude.
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Nautical Almanac
Rise
Twilight
Sun
Moon

LMT
Set
Sun
Twilight
Moon

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-3
 
That table is used for conversion of arc to time or time to
arc. The main usage of that table in Almanac is for the
conversion of longitude for application to LMT (Local
Mean Time) to give GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)
particularly in the case of sunrise, sunset, etc.

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Nautical Almanac

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-4
 
That table is used for the correction of altitude for Sun, stars and planets
with an apparent altitude of between 10° and 90°. There are three sections
on that table.
 
The first section is used for sun. The observation of upper and lower limb
and the month should be taken into consideration whilst applying
correction for the Sun.
 
The second section is used for stars and planets. There are two correction
values for stars and planets in this section. One is obtained according to
the apparent altitude for stars and planets. The other includes an additional
correction value for Venus and Mars in accordance with the month.
 
The third section consists of Dip correction for Sun, stars and planets.
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Nautical Almanac

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-6
 
That table is used for additional altitude correction by
taking into consideration the temperature and pressure
effect on the observation by sextant. The columns are
not vertical and the intercept of temperature and
pressure should be followed by the appropriate column
and intercepted with the apparent altitude.

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Nautical Almanac

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-7
 
That table is used for altitude correction of Moon with an
apparent altitude of between 0° and 35°. The correction is
in two parts. The first correction is taken from the upper
part of the table with the apparent altitude, and the
second from the lower part with H.P. (Horizontal -
Parallax), in the same column as that from which the first
correction was taken. Separate corrections are given in
the lower part for lower and upper limbs. All corrections
are to be added to apparent altitude, but 30’is subtracted
from the altitude of the upper limb.
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Nautical Almanac
Dip
The dip correction is a
correction for the
observer's height of eye
which corrects the
sextant altitude measured
from the visible horizon to
an equivalent reading
from the sensible horizon.

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-8
 
That table is used for altitude correction of Moon with an
apparent altitude of between 35° and 90°. Lower and
upper limb section must be considered whilst applying
correction.

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-9 / F-10
 
These two tables are both used in accordance with the
minute’s value of time with the coordination of daily
pages. This correction is applied on HA (Hour Angle) in
minutes.

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Nautical Almanac

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-11
 
That table is mainly used to determine corrections for H o.
The table includes corrections for Polaris and for
determining latitude from sextant altitude and for Azimuth.
The table is entered with LHA♈ to determine the column to
be used. Each column refers to a range of 10°. “a 0” is taken,
with mental interpolation, from the upper table with the
units of LHA (Local Hour Angle). Aries in degrees; “a 1” and
“a2” are taken, without interpolation, from the second and
third tables with latitude and month. “a0”, “a1” and “a2” are
always positive. The final table gives the Azimuth of Polaris.
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Nautical Almanac

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 Nautical Almanac
Appendix F-12
 
There are two separate tables in Appendix F-12.
 
a) Table I
 
That table is used for interpolating the LMT (Local Mean Time) of twilight,
sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset for latitude. It is to be entered, in
the appropriate column on the left, with the difference between true
latitude and the nearest tabular latitude which is less than the true latitude;
and at the top which is the nearest value of the difference between the
times for the tabular latitude and the next higher one; the correction so
obtained is applied to the time for the tabular latitude; the sign of the
correction can be seen by inspection. It is to be noted that the interpolation
is not linear, so that when using this table it is essential to take out the
tabular phenomenon for the latitude less than the true latitude.
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Nautical Almanac

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 Nautical Almanac
Table II
 
That table is used for interpolating the LMT (Local Mean
Time) of moonrise, moonset and the moon’s meridian
passage for longitude. It is entered with longitude and with
the difference between the times for the given date and for
the preceding date (in east longitudes) or following date (in
west longitudes). The correction is normally added for west
longitudes and subtracted for east longitudes, but if, as
occasionally happens, the times become earlier each day
instead of later, the signs of the corrections must be
reversed.
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Nautical Almanac

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Nautical Almanac
Where I
am?

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Finding GHA and Declination of the Sun

Enter the daily page table with the whole hour before the
given GMT, unless the exact time is a whole hour, and
take out the tabulated GHA and declination. Also record
the d value given at the bottom of the declination
column.

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Finding GHA and Declination of the Sun

Next, enter the increments and corrections table for the

number of minutes of GMT. On the line corresponding to
the seconds of GMT, extract the value from the Sun-
Planets column. Add this to the value of GHA from the
daily page. This is GHA of the Sun.

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49
Finding GHA and Declination of the Sun

Next, enter the correction table for the same minute

with the d value and take out the correction. Give
this the sign of the d value and apply it to the
declination from the daily page. This is the
declination.

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 "v" and "d"
At the bottom of the planets and Sun column and in
separate columns of their own in the Moon section we
find a small-type number designated "v" or "d" (the
Sun has no "v" and the stars have no "v" or "d").
The "v" is an extra correction for additional longitude
movement of the celestial body and the "d" is an extra
correction for additional declination movement of the
body.
Planets, Sun and Moon move on their own in orbits
around the Sun and earth and this change of position
in the sky is accounted for in the "v" and "d"
corrections. 51
 "v" and "d"
The "v" correction will always be positive except in
the case of Venus where it may be negative. In this
case, the "v" will be marked with a negative sign.
The "d" correction can be either positive or negative
depending on the trend of the declination. Look at
the declination column of the body in question at
the time in question and see if it is increasing or
decreasing. This will establish the sign, increasing
being positive, decreasing being negative.

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 "v" and "d"
These "v" and "d" numbers are only reference numbers for
the celestial body's movement in one hour. If we took a
sextant sight at thirty minutes after the hour, the actual
correction would be 30/60 or 1/2 of the reference numbers.
To save our doing the arithmetic, we enter the yellow
pages in the back of the Nautical Almanac with the minute
and second of our sight, pullout a value for the earth's
movement in columns entitled Sun-Planets, Aries and
Moon, and then go the the right hand side of the minute
box and find the "v" or "d" values. The corresponding
number to these values is the correction factor, to be
added or subtracted as the sign of the "v" or "d".
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Finding GHA and Declination of the Sun

Determine GHA and Dec. of Sun on 23 May 2010 at

15h43m52s GMT.
Page 105.
GHA Dec.
15h = 45⁰ 48.8’ N 20⁰ 38.2’ (+) d=0.5
Page Inc. and correc. xxiii (43m)
43m52s= 10⁰ 58.0’ d=0.5 d=0.4
GHA = 56⁰ 46.8’ Dec = N 20⁰ 38.6’

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Finding GHA and Declination of the Sun

Determine GHA and Dec. of Sun on 1 Sep 2010 at

05h32m02s GMT.
Page 173.
GHA Dec.
05h = 254⁰ 58.4’ N 8⁰ 19.2’ (-) d=0.9
Page Inc. and correc. xxiii (32m)
32m02s= 008⁰ 00.5’ d=0.9 d=0.5
GHA = 262⁰ 58.9’ Dec = N 8⁰ 18.7’

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Determine the LHA and Dec. of the Sun on 17 Jan 2010
at 5h41m36s ZT, in position 13⁰57’32”S - 123⁰41’45”E

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Determine the LHA and Dec. of the Sun on 17 Jan 2010
at 5h41m36s ZT, in position 13⁰57’32”S - 123⁰41’45”E

• Convert ZT to GMT.
• ZD is 8
5h41m36s
-8h
21h41m36s GMT .... Day 16 Jan 2010

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Determine the LHA and Dec. of the Sun on 17 Jan 2010
at 5h41m36s ZT, in position 13⁰57’32”S - 123⁰41’45”E

• 21h41m36s GMT .... Day 16 Jan 2010

• Page 20.
• GHA Dec.
• 21h = 132⁰ 31.9’ S 20⁰ 49.7’ (-) d=0.5
• Page Inc. and correc. (41m)
• 41m36s= 10⁰ 24.0’ d=0.5 d=0.3
• GHA = 142⁰ 55.9’ Dec = S 20⁰ 49.4’

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Determine the LHA and Dec. of the Sun on 17 Jan 2010
at 5h41m36s ZT, in position 13⁰57’32”S - 123⁰41’45”E

• 03h41m36s GMT .... Day 16 Jan 2010

• GHA = 142⁰ 55.9’ Dec = S 20⁰ 49.4’
• LHA = 266⁰ 37’39”
123⁰41’45”E

GHA = 142⁰ 55.9

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Finding GHA and Declination of the Moon

Enter the daily page table with the whole hour before the
given GMT, unless this time is itself a whole hour, and
extract the tabulated GHA and declination.
Record the corresponding v and d values tabulated on
the same line, and determine the sign of the d value. The
v value of the Moon is always positive

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Finding GHA and Declination of the Moon

Next, enter the increments and corrections table for the

minutes of GMT, and on the line for the seconds of GMT,
take the GHA correction from the Moon column. Then,
enter the correction table for the same minute with the v
value, and extract the correction. Add both of these
corrections to the GHA from the daily page. This is GHA
of the Moon.

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Finding GHA and Declination of the Moon

Then, enter the same correction table with the d value

and extract the correction. Give this correction the sign
of the d value and apply it to the declination from the
daily page. This is declination.

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 Finding GHA and Declination of the Moon

Determine GHA and Dec. of Moon on 18 Apr 2010 at

03h12m45s GMT.
GHA v Dec d
Daily page (81) 181 28.6 6.4 N24 55.3 + 2.1
Incrt & corrections 3 02.5 1.3 0.4
v and d correction 1.3 0.4
total 184 32.4 N24 55.7

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 Finding GHA and Declination of the Moon

Determine GHA and Dec. of Moon on 25 Nov 2010 at

21h09m16s GMT.
GHA v Dec d
Daily page (229) 263 19.0 8.2 N19 14.6 - 9.0
Incrt & corrections 2 12.7 1.3 1.4
v and d correction 1.3 1.4
total 265 33.0 N19 13.2

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 Finding GHA and Declination of the Moon

Determine GHA and Dec. of Moon on 24 Agu 2010 at

18h12m45s ZT at long. 37⁰12’56”E
GHA v Dec d
Daily page
Incrt & corrections
v and d correction
total

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 Finding GHA and Declination of the Moon

Determine LHA and Dec. of Moon on 13 Jul 2010 at

21h52m15s ZT at position 43⁰57’32”N - 128⁰41’45”W.
GHA v Dec d

Daily page
Incrt & corrections
v and d correction
total

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Finding GHA and Declination of a planet

Enter the daily page table with the whole hour of given
GMT, and extract the tabulated GHA and declination.
Record the v value given at the bottom of each of these
columns.

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Finding GHA and Declination of a planet

Next, enter the increments and corrections table for the

minutes of GMT, and on the line for the seconds of GMT,
take the GHA correction from the Sun-planets column.
Next, enter the correction table with the v value and
extract the correction, giving it the sign of the v value.

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Finding GHA and Declination of a planet

Add the increment correction to the GHA from the daily

page, and apply the second correction in accordance
with its sign. This is GHA.

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Finding GHA and Declination of a planet

Then enter the correction table for the same minute with
the d value, and extract the correction. Give this
correction the sign of the d value, and apply it to the
declination from the daily page to find the declination at
the given time.

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 Finding GHA and Declination of a planet

Determine GHA and Dec. of Venus on 12 Jan 2010 at

04h25m37s GMT.
GHA v Dec d
Daily page (16) 237 44.7 -0.9 S22 28.9 (-) 0.4
Incrt & corrections 6 24.3 -0.4 -0.2
v and d correction -0.4 -0.2
Total 244 08.6 S22 28.7

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 Finding GHA and Declination of a star

If the GHA and declination of each navigational star were

tabulated separately, the almanacs would be several
times their present size. But since the sidereal hour
angle and the declination are nearly constant over
several days (to the nearest 0.1') or months (to the
nearest 1'), separate tabulations are not needed.
Instead, the GHA of the first point of Aries, from which
SHA is measured, is tabulated on the daily pages, and a
single listing of SHA and declination is given for each
double page of the Nautical Almanac, Finding the GHAγ
is similar to finding the GHA of the Sun, Moon, and
planets.
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 Finding GHA and Declination of a star

First find the GHA γ, and then find SHA of the star and
add them this is GHA of the star. For declination use the
value stated at the star.

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74
 Finding GHA and Declination of a star

Determine GHA and Dec. of Hamal on 1 Sep 2010 at

05h55m49s GMT.
GHA v Dec d
Aries Daily page 55 15.6
Incrt & corrections 13 59.5
v and d correction
GHAγ 69 15.1
Hamal SHA 328 02.9 N23 30.9
Hamal GHA 397 18.0
Hamal 37 18.0 N23 30.9
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 Example:
Find GHA and Dec of Altair on 4 Apr 2010 at 14h18m25s (GMT)
 Example:
Find GHA and Dec of Altair on 5 Apr 2010 at 14h18m25s (GMT)

GHA v Dec d
Aries Daily page 42°46’,1
Incrt & corrections 4°37’,0
v and d correction -
GHAγ 47°23’,1
Altair SHA 62°10’.6 8°53’6 N
Altair GHA 109°33’.7
Altair GHA 109°33’.7 8°53’6 N
 Example:
Find GHA and Dec of Hamal on 18 Feb 2010 at 05h56m42s (GMT)

GHA v Dec d
Aries Daily page 223°03’,5
Incrt & corrections 14°12’,8
v and d correction -
GHAγ 237°16’,3
Hamal SHA 328°03.7’ 23°30’.7N
Hamal GHA 565° 20.0
Hamal GHA 205° 20.0 23°30’.7N
 Home work
Find GHA, LHA and declination:
27 dec 2010 23h47m49s GMT Vega, Long:12⁰ 43’ 56” W
10 Jan 2010 05h57m12s ZT Sun, Long:132⁰ 53’ 16” E
17 Apr 2010 23h09m34s LMT Mars, Long:42⁰ 17’ 13” E
19 Oct 2010 06h32m12s GMT Gienah, Long:157⁰ 27’ 47” E
19 Oct 2010 06h32m12s GMT Venus, Long:32⁰ 25’ 34” W
12 Sep 2010 12h00m00s ZT Regulus, Long:007⁰ 43’ 56” E
27 Dec 2010 12h45m37s ZT Capella, Long:23⁰ 12’ 39” W
27 Dec 2010 12h45m37s LMT Sun, Long:147⁰ 14’ 15” E
30 Jun 2010 15h46m32s ZT Moon, Long:16⁰ 23’ 16” W

80
Meridian which you are on GHA & LHA
at the time

E W LHA=GHA+EAST λ
LHA=GHA-WEST λ
Long
G

GHA
Pn

LHA

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