Celestial Navigation
Final Draft
Since the beginning of time humans have been using what nature has provided to navigate. Whether it was by using landmarks or the heavens, they relied on these constants to help prevent them from getting lost. This was done by both land dwellers and early seafarers that would follow the coastline to reach their destination. If a boat ever lost sight of land, all would not be lost because the sailors could rely on watching the flight of the birds and the motion of the waves. The stars in the sky gave paths that could be followed by experienced navigators. The experienced navigators of many different cultures proved that celestial navigation was possible without the need for instrumentation or technology. The theory of celestial navigation shows us that with just a little bit of information anyone can find their unknown position from known positions in the sky.
“The greatest advance in navigation came with the invention of the compass” (Tyson, 1996 - 2014). Latitude was easy to figure out by use of the compass and other instruments, but it wasn’t until “the discovery of the satellites of Jupiter that scientists realized that the formation of the satellites provided a clock whose face could be seen from every vantage point” (Helden, 1995). There were many charts and maps created by different navigators that helped them to navigate to a common destination that they had previously found. However, these charts were useless beyond the realm of their previous travels. Those that were brave enough to explore the uncharted waters, as well as those that got lost had no choice, and relied on the heavens to guide them to their destinations. “The only reference points on the high seas were the stars and Sun. Locations and courses now had to be spatial: a navigator needed to locate himself on a grid of imaginary lines of latitude and longitude” (Helden, 1995). Based on the time of eclipses of these moons, a navigator could figure out his longitude, based on the
Since the beginning of time humans have been using what nature has provided to navigate. Whether it was by using landmarks or the heavens, they relied on these constants to help prevent them from getting lost. This was done by both land dwellers and early seafarers that would follow the coastline to reach their destination. If a boat ever lost sight of land, all would not be lost because the sailors could rely on watching the flight of the birds and the motion of the waves. The stars in the sky gave paths that could be followed by experienced navigators. The experienced navigators of many different cultures proved that celestial navigation was possible without the need for instrumentation or technology. The theory of celestial navigation shows us that with just a little bit of information anyone can find their unknown position from known positions in the sky.
“The greatest advance in navigation came with the invention of the compass” (Tyson, 1996 - 2014). Latitude was easy to figure out by use of the compass and other instruments, but it wasn’t until “the discovery of the satellites of Jupiter that scientists realized that the formation of the satellites provided a clock whose face could be seen from every vantage point” (Helden, 1995). There were many charts and maps created by different navigators that helped them to navigate to a common destination that they had previously found. However, these charts were useless beyond the realm of their previous travels. Those that were brave enough to explore the uncharted waters, as well as those that got lost had no choice, and relied on the heavens to guide them to their destinations. “The only reference points on the high seas were the stars and Sun. Locations and courses now had to be spatial: a navigator needed to locate himself on a grid of imaginary lines of latitude and longitude” (Helden, 1995). Based on the time of eclipses of these moons, a navigator could figure out his longitude, based on the