Table of Contents Chapter 5.

Sun Sights
Preface ..............................................................................vi 5.1 Introduction ...............................................................57
($ $'    .........................57
Introduction
5.3 Sun Lines Using Starpath Work forms .....................59
About this Book ................................................................. 1
5.4 Sun Sight Exercise, Sun #2 ....................................... 71
Are You Nervous About Learning Celestial Navigation? ..2
5.5 Sun Sight Exercise, Sun #3........................................ 71
How to do the Home Study Course ...................................2
5.6 Sun Sight Fix Exercise, Sun #4 .................................72
Frequently Asked Questions .............................................2
5.7 Sun Sight Fix Exercise, Sun #5 ..................................72
 ..............................................................3
5.8 Exercise—More Sun Sight Practice ..........................73
   ........................................................3
5.9 Progress Report .........................................................74
How this Book is Structured .............................................3
<&' .....................................................74
Chapter 1. Background & Overview Chapter 6. Running Fixes
1.1 Overview of Ocean Navigation .....................................5
6.1 Introduction ...............................................................75
1.2 Overview of Celestial Navigation .................................7
6.2 Running Fixes in Coastal Nav ...................................75
1.3 Bird’s Eye View of a Celestial Fix .................................9
6.3 Running Fixes in Celestial Nav .................................77
1.4 Latitude, Longitude, and Nautical Miles ................... 11
6.4 Exercises on Running Fixes ......................................78
    .................................. 13
6.5 Running Fix with Sun lines #6 and #7......................79
1.6 Exercise on Adding and Subtracting Angles ............. 17
6.6 More Practice on Running Fixes .............................. 80
!"#  $    .............. 17
+!&'  ..................................................... 82
%&' .......................................................18
Chapter 7. Star Sights
Chapter 2. Sextants
7.1 Introduction .............................................................. 83
2.1 About Sextants ...........................................................19
7.2 Sight Reduction of Stars ........................................... 84
(()'
$ .................................................. 20
7.3 Arcturus Sight Exercise, Star #2 .............................. 85
2.3 How to read a Sextant ............................................. 24
7.4 Altair Sight Exercise, Star #3 ................................... 86
2.4 Exercise on Sextant Reading .....................................27
7.5 Antares Sight Exercise, Star #4 ................................ 86
(&'  ..................................................... 28
7.6 Arcturus Sight, Star #5 ..............................................87
Chapter 3. Noon Sights 7.7 Regulus Sight, Star #6 ...............................................87
7.8 Latitude by Polaris .................................................... 88
3.1 Introduction to LAN ................................................. 29
7.9 Practice with Latitude by Polaris............................... 91
3.2 Step by Step LAN Procedure ..................................... 31
!<&'  .....................................................91
3.4 Exercise on LAN Sights for Latitude .........................39
3.5 Review: LAN Virtues and Drawbacks ...................... 42 Chapter 8. Planet Sights
*+&'  ..................................................... 44
8.1 Introduction ...............................................................93
Chapter 4. Piloting & Chart Work 8.2 Sight Reduction of Planets ....................................... 94
8.3 Jupiter Sight Exercise, Planet #2 ..............................97
4.1 Introduction ...............................................................45
8.4 Venus Sight Exercise, Planet #3 ...............................97
4.2 Universal Plotting Sheets ..........................................45
8.5 Jupiter-Hamal, Plot Exercise, Planet #2, Star #7 ... 98
4.3 Exercise on Universal Plotting Sheets ......................47
8.6 Venus-Sirius, Plot Exercise, Planet #3, Star #8 ...... 98
4.4 Plotting Lines of Position ..........................................47
%!&'  ..................................................... 98
4.5 Exercise on Plotting LOPs .........................................52
4.6 DR Plotting Exercise .................................................54
4.7 More DR Plotting Practice.........................................55
/%&'  ......................................................56

iv
 Chapter 9. Moon Sights 11.21 Compass Checks at Sea ......................................... 165

9.1 Introduction .............................................................100 11.22 Great Circle Sailing...............................................166

9.2 Sight Reduction of the Moon ..................................100 11.23 Rhumb-line Sailing ..............................................169

9.3 Exercise on converting Moon’s Hs to Ho ................103 11.24 Optimizing Celestial Fixes.................................... 174

9.4 Moon Sight Reduction, Moon #1 ............................103 11.25 Star and Planet ID ...............................................178

9.5 Moon-Sun Running Fix Exercise, Moon #2 ...........104 11.26 Emergency Procedures.........................................183

9.6 Moon-Sun Running Fix Exercise, Sun #8 ..............104 11.27 Pub. 249 Vol. 1, Selected Stars .............................184

9.7 Moon-Arcturus Fix Exercise, Moon #3 ...................105 11.28 Computed Solutions .............................................189

9.8 Moon-Arcturus Fix Exercise, Star #9 .....................105 (=&]$ ^   ............................... 191

9.9 Moon Exercise, Moon #4 ........................................106 *<&_#` .............................................................196

9.10 Use of the Moon and Planets .................................106 11.31 Nuts and Bolts of Ocean Navigation ....................199

=&'  ...................................................108 *(j{

[  {][............... 202

Chapter 10. Principles Appendix

10.1 A One-hour Course in Cel Nav ...............................109 Glossary ........................................................................ 203

10.2 Distant Light Rays ................................................. 114 Answers..........................................................................221

10.3 Zenith Distance = Distance to the GP. ................. 114 Examples with Full Work Form Solutions ....................221

10.4 Why the Sun Rises and Sets .................................. 116  $  ............................................................ 243

10.5 Lat and Lon Without Math ....................................117 Workforms .....................................................................272

10.6 How Sight Reduction Works ................................. 118 Index ............................................................................. 285

<!&'  ................................................... 121

Chapter 11. In Depth

&'  ..........................................................123
11.1 Bowditch and other References ..............................124
(
@KT........................................... 125
11.3 Electronic Navigation .............................................126
11.4 Mercator Charts...................................................... 131
 XT  &   ...................................132
11.6 Dip Short ................................................................136
11.7 Solar Index Correction ...........................................138
11.8 Optimizing Plastic and Metal Sextant Sights ........ 141
11.9 Longitude from LAN ..............................................144
11.10 Ocean Plotting Sheets ...........................................146
11.11 Ocean Dead Reckoning ......................................... 147
([ '  [   ...............................151
11.13 Practice Choosing the AP ......................................151
11.14 Practice with Pub. 249 Vol. 2, 3............................ 153
11.15 AM to PM Running Fixes...................................... 154
11.16 An Ocean-going Nav Station ................................ 155
11.17 Offshore Navigation Checklist .............................. 157
11.18 Checking a Sextant with the Stars ........................158
=  ) \................................................. 161
11.20 Storm Warnings at Sea ........................................164

v
 Preface
] '    '  

interactions with many thousands of students over the past 20 years, both in the classroom and
    
|''] |
experience was to break up the early study between tables and number crunching with hands
on plotting exercises. Another is to teach how to do it as quickly as possible up front, and only
 '  T  
carrying out the full process from beginning to end, so they can then be practicing the process
and catching mistakes early, as we slowly add the background. In short, the background goes to
the back.
Practical, self-reliant celestial navigation is easy to do. It is done today much as it was 100
years ago, and as it will likely be done 1oo years from now. We risk losing sight of that if we
choose to understand all the math and science background before getting started on the actual
navigation, which itself requires no math beyond arithmetic. We have a proven compromise
}~T 
 
 
those who are more comfortable having the background at hand. Many readers, however, will
follow the background more readily once they know how it works in practice.
We have also learned that a well-designed work form is key to versatile cel nav practice. Our
  TT T
  
same, and provide an easy reminder of the next step at each stage.

Preface to the Second Edition

€T  #'
the basic approach and methods of the teaching. We still use most of the same examples, which
are now quite old, but that is the beauty of celestial navigation. It has not changed, so we do not
 '
'#T' '  ' 
error in a book of many numbers.
We have, however, notably improved and expanded the book. Each section has been updated
and reformatted for a clearer presentation, often in response to student questions over the years.
&' T         T   '    #
especially in the In-Depth chapter including more detailed discussion of the sailings and more
background on the principles. New sections on general ocean navigation tactics and new sec-
 T  \ #€T    '
longer explain systems we will never see again!
Starpath instructors remain at hand to answer questions about the subject and we maintain
an online support page for this book at www.starpath.com/celnavbook.

vi
 Introduction
About this Book
These study materials (text, examples, and practice exer- at the data and help you learn what went wrong. Part of the
cises, along with the table selections and work forms in the learning process is exactly that. Leaning the pitfalls of pos-
Appendix) are used for classroom, home study, and online sible mistakes and how to avoid them. This course offers
courses throughout the US. With home study, readers do so many practice examples, that you will have this under
     control before you set off. It is obviously much better to
   *<<<< make all the mistakes on land, and save your time at sea for
celestial navigation students have used before them. Hope- other matters.
fully most of the questions that might come up are already The various subjects covered in our materials and the
answered. relative emphasis given them in the course is based on
The materials you have in this book are the basis for all the latest information on these subjects—some of which is
three learning formats. For those who might like a class- changing, though most is not—and our actual experience at
room course, the Calendar section of starpath.com lists _ ` !<<<< 
courses around the country that use this textbook and some 25% of which were navigated by celestial alone (See
related materials. Online courses are also available that Hawaii by Sextant$T[   (</`€-
provide direct contact with instructors and individually centrate on practical matters, presented and explained in
T  \\ˆ    a manner that we have learned from classroom experience
also available. suits most students best.
€  T ''- The various procedures of celestial navigation are pre-
dent you can learn practical and versatile celestial naviga- sented in a step-by-step manner, with numerous examples
tion from these materials alone, studying at home on your and many practice problems. This is a practical approach,
own. Thousands have done so, and gone on to cross oceans but not a cookbook approach. We delegate the astronomi-
or circumnavigate the globe. cal and mathematical backbones of celestial to the optional
Hands on instruction with sextant sights might seem topics at the end of course as they can in fact distract from
the main factor missed in home study learning, but here learning how to do it, but we can promise that at the end of
too our experience with so many past students helps again. the course, you will know how to do it, and do it well, and
We have a thorough section on sextant handing and how also know how it works.
to read the dials, along with crucial steps to taking good You will notice that some of the practice examples and
sights. Follow these procedures and you will learn quickly T  T     !<Š ' ' 
how to use the sextant.     KŠ  
In fact, the challenge of using a sextant is not as high as these dates. The Nautical Almanac pages that we teach
one might guess from scuttlebutt on the topic. The ingenu-    =!%  T 
ity of sextant design is not its ability to measure accurate 
'  *<']
angles—this could be done on land two centuries before might be tempted to change all the examples to the present
sextants were invented—but rather it was its unique dou- date to make them look up to date, but in reality there is
|   no difference in the learning whatsoever, and by not doing
when you are bouncing around in a seaway. Standing still this we avoid the chance of introducing typographic errors.
on a beach or the edge of a lake, you will learn the process There are a lot of numbers in a course on cel nav, so this is
quickly, and the ingenuity of the instrument design will let an important step toward maintaining the integrity of the
you carry these new-found skills on to the rolling platform materials.
of a boat at sea.
Also you will learn shortly that a real beauty of celestial
navigation is its transparency. If you make a mistake, it will
be obvious, and if you keep careful records of all the data
that went into the sight process and analysis, you will be
      
 }       
who is familiar with celestial navigation, they can also look
Celestial Navigation: A Complete Home Study Course

Are You Nervous About Learning Celestial As you work through the practice, keep a bound note-
Navigation? book of your work, with each problem labeled carefully—as
opposed to just using loose sheets of paper that may get
You will soon see that celestial navigation is an impres-
lost. If a question or concern arises, jot it down and date it
sive and very rewarding thing to learn about; it is also
Š   T  T 
an unusual subject in that it is technical stuff that many
general questions or curiosities that have not stopped your
non-technical people want to learn. For people who do not
progress. Most of these questions will likely be answered as
routinely deal with numbers, graphs, or other technical
you progress through the book. They will also be useful if
matters, the onset of this course might well be more of a
you choose to work with an instructor later on or post ques-
challenge than it is for those who are already comfortable
tions in an online forum.
with numerical work. If you do not work with numbers on
a daily basis, your worries might be reinforced after skim-
   
'    Frequently Asked Questions
and strange looking plots. Please let me assure you, how-
ever, that the chart and paperwork of celestial navigation How Long Does the Course Take?
looks more complicated than it is. $T' *~-
There is sophisticated science and mathematics buried es, with the assumption that students spent at least an
in the subject, but it is well buried. The actual practice has equivalent amount of time outside of the classroom. We
evolved into a systematic process requiring no math be- have estimated that our online version of the course would
yond arithmetic and no science beyond reading the dials of 
 !< T 
a sextant and watch. The key to success is an organized ap- that. The time spent depends on the number of practice ex-
proach to the paperwork and prudent tips on sextant use. ercises needed to master a topic as well as how much of the
This course is designed with that in mind. The course ap- T  }~KT    T    
proaches the subject step by step, with planned changes in cover. Most classroom courses include some, but not all of
subject matter that lets earlier parts settle in, followed by a that material.
review of the past before proceeding on to something new. Do I Need a Sextant to do the Course?
By the end of the course, the parts of this book that might
 
 '    '       The answer to that is No, but you will eventually need
Step by step, you will have learned it all. In the end, as you one to do real sights. You can actually work though the
| T 
 '   T course without one and get the sextant later—in fact, it
the accomplishment. is even best to read through Chapter 2 on sextants before
making your choice. But once that chapter is presented, the
Thousands of people have used these notes to learn ce- practice exercises simply start out saying “the sextant read
lestial. People in their early teens to people in their early such-and-such at time such-and such” and you can work
%<Š[TT '
  out your position lines from that.
Sailors who have spent years on the water, as well as those
who have never been on a boat. The vast majority are to- When you start doing sights, be sure to keep careful re-
tally unfamiliar with celestial to begin with, but we are cords of your work. Take a notebook and record everything
equally proud of our success with those who “have tried about the sight session. Use a GPS to know your exact lo-
every course available” and did not succeed until now. Our cation, and use it as well to check your watch time. Note
reputation is based on our record. Anyone who wants to the times of all sights, the height of eye above water level,
learn celestial can do it with this course. That is our job. the height of the tide at the time, the index correction, plus
how and how often you checked it. If more than one sex-
tant, which sextant goes with which sight, etc. Do not throw
How to do the Home Study Course out sights—make a note on it, but keep it. If you do all this,
We suggest that you divide your study into sections that  '         '  ' 
follow the Table of Contents. This is very similar to the way you do not get a good #{][  
we present the materials in a classroom or online course. of celestial navigation.
It divides up the course into sections, with logical break- What Sight Reduction Tables Are Used?
points in between. It structures the reading and practice
This question may or may not make sense to you at this
exercises. Answers are provided along with solutions in
point, depending on where you are starting, but it is a ques-
most cases in the back of the book. If you cannot get the
tion that comes up frequently. The answer is we teach them
right answer on a practice exercise, rework one of the il-
all in this book, and our work forms can be used with any of
lustrative examples to double check your procedure. If you
the tables. The Table Selections we provide are from Pub.
     
(/=            
scratch with a clean slate, rather than going back over the
could be used to work the problems. Toward the end of the
numbers of a completed solution.
course we encourage students to consider the NAO Tables

2
 Introduction

included in each edition of the almanac. And we have ex- It is a toss up these days as to which is best, if only one is
T[ ((=TT Œ$# to be had. Satellite phones are more convenient, but cost
' [ ((=_   - more to operate.
tion and answer does not make sense, do not worry about
it. It will all be clear very shortly.)
Celestial Terminology
More Support?
Learning celestial navigation can be thought of in terms of
For extra help see www.starpath.com/celnavbook. several goals:
There are multiple resources there related to this book and
• Learning how to use a sextant to take sights (usually
the general study of celestial navigation, including several
mastered in a few hours with good instructions).
organizations and discussion groups that specialize in cel
nav. There are also links to schools around the country that • Learning how to use a dozen or so new tables (similar
use this text for their courses. Sextants and related tools       T 
        
and materials are also available. time).
• Learning a book keeping procedure for what to do
with the numbers we get from the tables (we use a work
Tools of the Trade form to guide us through this step; the only math required
The following is a list of the equipment and materials need- is adding and subtracting).
ed to do celestial navigation at sea. This is not a list of what • Learning a new plotting procedure for putting the nu-
you need for the course. Everything needed for the course merical results onto a chart (takes only an hour or so to
is provided in this book except for standard plotting tools. master using our instructions).
We include this list early in the notes, only because it is
• Learning a couple dozen or so new terms, which is the
consistently an early question we get in class. And it is cer-
subject of this section.
tainly reasonable to wonder “What am I going to need after
I learn this stuff and what will it cost?” Many of the terms to be used are already familiar, but
we need to add precision to the meanings. Some celestial
Celestial Equipment Needed Underway terms have recognizable origins (i.e. zenith is indeed the
TT# (<T '‘T - point overhead, as sextant angle is indeed the angle we
natives are discussed later. measure with a sextant), but many terms have obscure
j$#  ’+= names (sextant angle is usually called sextant height or
sextant altitude; zenith distance is actually an angle, not
[  
T# ’/=
a distance; ZD stands for zone description, not zenith dis-
'€  ’%< tance, and so on). There is a temptation to rename some
Nautical Almanac  ’*< terms to simplify the learning (which some books give in
to), but in the long run this is a serious disservice. It is best
Œ [ $ ’%
to stick with traditional terminology so everyone can speak
$ ^   ’*< the same language and read the same books.
(<(~K$“   ’*= Keeping these terms straight does not come instantly,
[   ’+< but slowly it falls into place. To help with this, there is a
thorough glossary at the back of the book, and we list new
& 
   ’<
terms at the end of each Chapter.
{'T ’

How this Book is Structured

  ’*<<T# radio

  ' - The body of the text presents a sequence of topic discus-
erally, the minimum radio equipment one should consider sions with a few worked out numerical examples showing
for an ocean crossing is a SW receiver capable of receiving how the tables and forms are used to complete the task at
the high seas weather. Dependable portable models cost hand, followed by practice exercises for the reader. An-
  ’(<<  '  T        - swers and selected solutions are in the back of the book,
ception, but it is not clear that this should be counted in as which also includes blank work forms and plotting sheets
a celestial expense. You can, in fact, get accurate time from that can be photocopied as needed. Hi-res pdfs of the forms
your GPS while it is working, but the radio is still the safest and plotting sheets are available for free download at www.
source. starpath.com/celnavbook. The philosophy of the presenta-
tion was outline in the Preface.
If you happen to have a SSB transceiver or satellite
phone on board for high-seas communication, then it will
provide excellent weather and time signal coverage as well.

3
Celestial Navigation: A Complete Home Study Course

Glossary Tables Selections

At the end of each chapter we include a list of the new This section provides all the table data needed to work
      T   the standard exercises in the book. These are historic val-
 TT #' - ues in some cases, but this does not affect the learning as
nition. Please double check these terms in the Glossary to the procedures and table layouts have not changed. For
complete that Chapter. your own navigation at home or underway you will need
The Glossary is meant to be more than just a list of access to full sets of the sight reduction tables and a cur-
   TT- rent Nautical Almanac, both are available online as free
where in the book. Also, frequent questions about more downloads (www.starpath.com/celnavbook).
technical meanings of some terms are answered only in the Links to In-depth Topics
Glossary to keep this information from distracting from the
Throughout the book you will periodically see at the
course. In this sense, the Glossary is a mini encyclopedia.
bottom of the page a cross reference link to a section of
As the course progresses and more terms are intro- T}KTT T 
duced, refer to the Glossary frequently to remind your- book whenever there is related extra material available.
self of the meanings and interrelationships of the various The in-depth or special topics are removed to that sec-
terms. tion so they do not distract from the main progress of the
Abbreviations course.

    '      €  

 '   Sometimes these include new material that might be of
standard abbreviations for standard terms regardless of interest to you but is not crucial to the content of the course,
our own interpretation of the logic. Then when referring to and sometimes they are just extra practice on a detail now
standard references you will be at home. This terminology  #T T -
is part of the learning process, ie ZD is zone description, lestial navigation, but they are all related to doing or learn-
not zenith distance, which is a lower case z. Likewise, Z is a ing ocean navigation. Two samples are shown below.
relative bearing (azimuth angle) whereas Zn is a true bear-
ing (azimuth), and so on.
To help with this we have a list of abbreviations at the
end of the Glossary, which could be a useful resource. We
have also added a few editorial ones that are not standard
to simplify the presentation, such as NA for Nautical Al-
manac, and T-2 to refer to the second table in our Table
Selections.

...In Depth ...In Depth

11.1 Bowditch and other Resources 11.2 Taking Your Departure
There are navigation procedures from the early
Our text is self-contained, providing all the
days of sailing ships that have wandered out of the
 
 



 

textbooks, but some remain valuable in modern

but the quest for more details may come up, so
times. In this section we help one wander back in...
we list standard and unique resources in this
section...

4
 Chapter 1

Background & Overview

1.1 Overview of Ocean Navigation
Navigation means two things: knowing where you are and '     T    _
  '' worldwide) might       <  (<   
T   
T 
T - day; in extreme cases (such as the Gulf Stream) the cur-
tion (out if sight of land), is the goal of this course on ocean   <<< ]
     T      - K^
 
ered in Modern Marine Weather _$T [    course and forgetting to log it, or not really steering the av-
(<(` T ~   '''    -
'   TT    ' '
      T T    |K^  
     –  
On inland and coastal waters we usually navigate using 
T 
   T       '

 T   T - T  

 }
}} T$'  ' '    — –
#}T  }}'    
 }     '       

 $ }T  [     
'   
 ''T ''— T  #€
T] 'T    TT  #' ''
T   # ''  
  
    -   
-
 T T - —T  ' ''''
   
Inland and Coastal }''''''
Navigation _$T[   (<*` '
'} '
T

T 
     T    '   
 T
from one landmark to the next we use dead reckoning—   
 '
   <<   -
  
 ''T      T ]  TT   K^
''
'T    T-  –     
  —   
 —T  T'  TT' -
' ''' TŠ_`'  '' ''   '
T
  '  ' ' €     
  - 
K^  '
cord how far we went on each heading and when we made # '   K^ T     '    
€T '  #
T <  ' ' '    #“
 '
T
T   #T#T  /= K^   ((‘
 

 '
  *%~ +
good navigation, regardless of what other navigation aids (<   ' 
'        
        
     ' {   '   ' 
$ T'   \ T T  
' T  'ŠT  }'T  #'-
 '     ' 'K^'T  
no way of knowing the effects of ocean currents while we  T K^
-
  
 K
  T T  #'    

'    K^  '# T
  ' } 

' #- ~    T
 '         
'  
    T˜'
 Chapter 2

Sextants
2.1 About Sextants
The raw data of celestial navigation is obtained from a should be. Do not believe the nonsense published in some
hand-held instrument called a sextant. Technical aspects catalogs that claim professionals prefer a heavy instrument
of sextants are described in detail in Bowditch. A metal because it has inertia, which makes it more stable. The same
sextant, as opposed to a plastic one, should be considered companies offer an unadvertised expensive custom model
when relying on celestial as a primary means of naviga- made of aluminum alloy, which they claim is the very top
tion. New metal sextants vary in price (in 2014) from about of the line because it is so light! (Should we hang a piece of
$660 to $2,500, and maybe more if you shop around. Plas- lead on these when doing sights?) The advantage of brass
tic sextants are discussed in Section 11.8, which also in- is the metal itself, not its weight. More accurate gears can
cludes notes on optimizing sights with metal sextants. be cut in brass alloys than in aluminum alloys. Brass alloys
The more expensive ones are indeed better instru- withstand the sea air environment better than aluminium
ments, but they won’t necessarily do a better job at what we ones, but very little of the metal itself is exposed. With rea-
want. In the vast majority of cases, ultimate accuracy in a sonable cleaning, either will last a lifetime. More important
T  #T''' # is the quality of the paint and primer that is protecting the
   T        bulk of the instrument.
expensive ones are inherently more accurate, but we can Sextant Use
  #}'
apples by the pound, for example, we could quite success- Sextant usage can be learned from a manual or text-
fully use a scale accurate to an ounce; we do not need an ex- book, but it is quickest to have it demonstrated by an expe-
pensive scale that is accurate to a thousandth of an ounce. rienced navigator. These days there are many videos online
Furthermore, an apple weight accurate to a thousandth of that show the process, but like much info online we must
an ounce does not have much validity anyway. This weight carefully evaluate what we see. Look at several not just one,
will vary with the relative humidity of the room, etc. There and keep in mind what we say here about the process. We
are similar uncertainties in sextant sights at sea that ulti- have seen some that are well made and indeed start out
mately limit the obtainable accuracy of any single sight. nicely, but then toward the end they spin out, and expose a
And all metal sextants on the market surpass this limit. limited experience in actually taking sights underway. Also
check www.starpath.com/videos.
On the other hand, if a bargain sextant falls apart a
thousand miles from land, it wasn’t such a good deal after Sextant use is readily learned; exceptional skills and ex-
all. Fortunately, we can do celestial without any sextant at tensive training are not required. Don’t worry if you have
all, so we don’t have to be anxious about this unlikely event    '         \ 
coming about. not yet practiced at sea. Sights are often easier at sea than
they are on land, even with some motion of the boat to
Used models of high quality instruments sell for $700 contend with. Sextants do what they are supposed to: al-
to $1000 or so. In most cases, if the instrument looks good low you to measure vertical angles precisely from a moving
and all parts move smoothly, chances are it is OK. If you do platform.
not have experience with sextants, however, it is probably
best to buy used sextants from a reputable sextant dealer or To do sextant sights, you go on deck with a sextant
have one check it out for you. and your watch, along with paper and pencil to record the
sights. A small notebook dedicated to this use is conve-
Brass versus Aluminum nient. The sights are generally taken standing some place
Just about any metal sextant that is not damaged will with good visibility and some means of support. On a sail-
do the job and provide essentially the same level of accura- boat, this is often on the after deck or amidships next to the
 #$#'   shrouds. In rougher seas, it is best to wrap an arm around
ease of use. Key factors are the size of the mirrors, style shrouds or stays during the sights—or wrap the short teth-
of mirrors, kinds of telescopes, and weight. Weights vary er of your safety harness around the shrouds and lean back.
from about 2+ lbs (for aluminium alloy models) to as much Some system is needed to free both hands to operate the
as 4+ lbs for brass models. Light weight is a big advantage, sextant while still providing support against sudden boat
because when the arms tire, we are not as careful as we  }    '
 Chapter 3

Noon Sights (LAN)

In this chapter Sec. 3.1 gives an overview of the full noon Once the maximum height (Hs-max) is in hand, you
sight process, then we back up in Section 3.3 and go step- make 3 numerical corrections to it, and subtract the result
by step through the numerical procedures. Do not worry from 90°. What is left is called the zenith distance (z) of the
about learning the process in these introductions, just skim sun. Then use the Nautical Almanac to look up the decli-
through them to get the overview and come back to them nation of the sun. Your latitude is then the sum of the ze-
later if you like. In Section 3.3 we start all over, explain- nith distance you measured and the declination you looked
ing each step and how to use the tables needed. When new up—or it could be the difference between these two num-
terms appear, it might be useful to check the Glossary for bers, but there is rarely any confusion between whether to
more explanation. We explain the new terms in Sec 3.3. add or subtract.
This chapter introduces the use of several key tables And that’s all there is to it. With little practice and good
and how to move around in the study materials from text, procedure, the entire process takes about 30 minutes: a
to tables, to answers, etc. At the end of this chapter you will few minutes to predict the proper time to start taking the
have completed some 75% of the total learning process for sights, 15 minutes or so for the sextant sights themselves,
celestial navigation. followed by another few minutes of arithmetic as outlined
above and explained in detail below.

3.1 Introduction to LAN We now take a brief look at the principles behind this
process with a numerical example, and then move in to the
  T            T T
sight of the sun. It is a quick, easily-learned process for
The point on earth directly underneath the sun at any
        }    # 
moment is called the Geographical Position (GP) of the
Nautical Almanac, and a watch. You can learn the process
sun. If you were standing at the GP of the sun, the sun
in an evening, practice next day, and master it the next.
would be precisely overhead, at your zenith. The declina-
  ''  
   Š[}
sextant sight—about 0.5 mi at best, more like 1 or 2 miles
varies slowly throughout the year from the Tropic of Can-
on the average.
cer (overhead at 23° 26’ N) on the Summer Solstice (June
The process is called a noon sight or LAN sight for lati- 21st) to the Tropic of Capricorn (overhead at 23° 26’ S) on
tude. LAN stands for local apparent noon; it is the time of the Winter Solstice (Dec. 21st), as shown in Figure 3.1-1.
day when the sun crosses your meridian, meaning it bears The declination of the sun is 0° 0’ (overhead at the equator)
either due south or due north. North of the tropics you al- on the two equinoxes (Mar. 21st and Sept. 23rd).
ways see the noon sun to the south, and south of the tropics
As the earth turns beneath the sun daily, the GP of the
the noon sun always bears north. Within the tropics it can
sun circles the earth at a constant latitude equal to its dec-
bear either direction depending on your latitude and the
lination. If the sun passed directly over head at noon, you
time of year. Hence another name for this process: Lati-
'   T
T -
tude by meridian passage of the sun.
tion of the sun on that date and time in the Nautical Alma-
When the sun crosses your meridian at LAN it has nac}T#  -
 #   
 tion, be at the latitude of the sun. Hence the main job of the
latitude at LAN we need to catch the sun in the sextant at Nautical Almanac: to tell us the precise latitudes (and lon-
this moment. We need to know the precise maximum gitudes) of the GPs of all celestial bodies (sun, moon, stars,
height of the sun. But this is not as hard to come by as you and planets) at all times.
  ŠT  |
If we were not at the sun’s latitude, the sun would not
at the top. In other words, the sextant height (Hs) of the
pass overhead. If you were 1° “north of the sun”—meaning
sun does not change much during the few minutes just be-
your latitude was 1° north of the sun’s declination—the sun
fore and after its maximum height. To insure that we do
would pass 1° south of overhead. This is the key to under-
indeed get the maximum value, however, the standard pro-
standing the LAN latitude sight; it is true in every case: 30°
cedure is to start a series of sun sights just before LAN, con-
north of the sun, the sun passes 30° south of overhead, and
tinue them until the height starts to drop, and then take the
so forth.
maximum value of Hs from the list of heights recorded.
 Chapter 4

Plotting & Chart Work

4.1 Introduction
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4.2 Universal Plotting Sheets
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 Chapter 5

Sun Sights
5.1 Introduction
We start with a discussion of sunrise and twilight, then The seasonal changes are well known: in the summer the
move on to the main task of doing the full sight reduction sun rises early, sets late, and the days are long; in the win-
of the sun for sun sights taken any time during the day— ter the sun rises late, sets early, and the days are short. In
not just at noon as we did in Chapter 3. In the classroom the Northern Hemisphere summer, if you head south you
course we say “roll up your sleeves and get an extra handful are headed toward the Southern winter, so you are headed
of M&Ms,” after tonight’s class it is all downhill. That is, toward shorter days, earlier sunsets, and so on. With this
once we learn the full process for sun sights at any time of  ''' TT
day, the other bodies can all be added with just a note or times if you head north or south, in the summer or winter,
two on the distinctions. You will also see that much of what in either hemisphere.
we do with these we have learned in the LAN procedure.
Accurate sunrise and set times change with longitude
We use the Starpath work forms, which will guide you even within the same time zone, because everyone in a par-
through the process in a step-by-step manner. The forms ticular time zone keeps the same time on their watch, even
themselves will then serve as instructions reminding you though one may be as much as 900 miles to the east of the
of the next step in the process. other. Since the sun (GP of the sun) comes from the east
Again, this is the main content of the course. After the     
sun lines are mastered, we can explain all the other bodies If you live in Seattle and are on the phone to a friend in
in a half a page or so each. For the most part, the other bod- Spokane (some 5° of longitude to the east), and your friend
ies use the identical procedure, we just select the needed tells you the sunrise is beautiful, you will have to take their
data from different columns in the tables. word for it. You won’t see the sunrise in Seattle for an-
(< $  
moment the top edge (upper limb) of the sun drops below
5.2 Sunrise, Sunset and, Twilight Times the visible horizon. The assumption here is that we are at
For both inland and ocean navigation we often like to know sea or some such place where we can indeed see the true
the time of sunset or sunrise—or, more generally, when it’s  \& ''TT
going to get dark or light. On coastwise on inland routes,    'Š \}
navigation at night is different than during the day—it’s not mountains between us and the true horizon, the sun will
necessarily harder, in some circumstances it’s even easier, set over the mountain horizon earlier than the sunset time
but it is different, and generally we like to know where we '
will be when it gets dark. In the ocean, on the other hand, This might make us realize that the time of sunrise also
we need these times accurately each day to prepare for ce- depends on the height of eye (HE). At higher heights you
lestial sights, because we can only take star sights during see a horizon that is farther off, and thus see the sunrise
twilight, when we can see both stars and horizon. earlier than someone viewing from a lower perspective. But
Several factors enter into these time predictions. Rarely for practical work on using this data for navigation from
can we get, even on inland or coastal waters, what we want the deck of a vessel this correction is rarely used.
by simply looking these times up in the current issue of a
newspaper the day before a sail. Obviously in the ocean we
can’t do that, nor can we get them from a radio broadcast.
We may get the time of sunrise or sunset that way, but we
would still have to make some guess at the length of twi- ...In Depth
light. If we are a long way from the city that prepared the
newspaper or broadcast, even the times of sunrise and sun- 11.12 Practice with Time Prediction
set could be way off. Likewise, sunrise and sunset times on
The procedure for predicting sunrise, sunset, and
calendars and commercial tide tables are only applicable to
twilight times is the same as given in Sec 3.2 for
their city of origin.
LAN. We include a few practice exercises here...
The times of sunset and twilight (and the length of twi-
light) depend on the date, our latitude, and our longitude.
 Chapter 6

Running Fixes
6.1 Introduction
We often say in class that the transition from prudent skip-     *<£       
per to navigator takes place with the mastering of the run- '  '' 
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6.2 Running Fixes in Coastal Nav {]['   _ `–  '
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ing position from a single landmark or   ] where the {][{][
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 Chapter 7

Star Sights
7.1 Introduction
  T'        T   #  The process of preparing for star sights and the gen-
comes with the use of the stars. Sun sights are often con-  –T    T 
sidered easier, in the sense that they can be taken anytime Chapter 10, along with the option to use Pub. 249 Vol. 1 for
 T    selected stars. Here we are sticking with Vol 2 and 3, which

 T    
 - covers stars with declinations less than 29º. Other options
ads—but these are, for the most part, uninformed biases. will be clear shortly.
The disadvantage of the sun is that it gives only one
{][T  # 
     #        
the DR between the two sights. In actual practice, the total
  # '  
than from sun sights, and the star results will be more ac-
curate.
Also, as we shall see, when done right, it is actually eas-
T#T 
star sight and have it ready to be measured than it is to
    T   # '   TT 
in place. The special preparation needed for the star sights
takes just minutes. The process is called precomputing star
sights. We postpone this process till Chapter 10 on Star
}   T  '  T    
    —' ''
up and in the process of mastering these procedures.
The main goal of this Chapter is just to learn and prac-
tice the sight reduction of stars, but before leaving the
Chapter, please review Sections 1.2 and 1.3 on the overall
picture of taking a star sight, along with Section 5.2 on twi-
light times—we usually take star sights between nautical
and civil twilight.
The most basic star sight, in a sense, is a sight of Polaris,
the North Star. A sight of this special star, which is essen-
tially on our meridian at all times, is analogous to the LAN
sight of the sun on our meridian. The full sight reduction
collapses to the adding and subtracting of a few numbers.
Latitude by Polaris alone is covered at end of this chapter,
as it is a special case.
The Star Finder Book includes much information on Figure 7.1-1(
`


  
star motions, colors, terminology, names, etc. along with 


^

_
~U
notes on preparing the sights. If questions arise about ter-  

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( ‚` %(‚`&
 
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minology or star motions, please refer to Section 3.1 of that
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 -
book along with the Glossary of this one. 
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New terms used for specifying star locations are Aries (‚`



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(♈), which is the “Greenwich meridian” of a star globe, and 


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(‚`
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sidereal hour angle (SHA), which is the longitude of a star   ‚` %‚`&`

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on the star globe relative to Aries, as shown in Figure 7.7-1. 
‚`






 Chapter 8

Planet Sights
8.1 Introduction
T  
  ]    T  ˆ  ™T  
  ˜jjˆ™T  T   #T   } 
$]j  Nau-   
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tical Almanac            - j  T     T     
       j$–-
–                    T
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 '   
' ˆ   'T  '

Sunset at 40N
Venus as evening star

Venus as morning star

Sunrise at 40N

Figure 8.1-1 A sample Planet Diagram from the Nautical Almanac, to which we have added sun rise and set times. Mer pass of stars
can be estimated from the SHA lines shown. On Feb 1, Venus is 3h behind the sun, so it will be well to the east (left) of the sunset. At
the end of mar it passes behind the sun and emerges as a morning star. At 40 N we see Mars is visible most of the night, throughout
the year. More generally, any body crossing the meridian near midnight will be visible all night during that day. Shaded areas means
bodies too close to the sun to see. We would see Mercury as an evening star in Sept. A study of this diagram with a 2102D Star
Finder in hand is a good way to learn what all it tells us. The planet curves change each year. Always check the Planet Diagram notes
in a new Almanac.
 Chapter 9

Moon Sights
9.1 Introduction
The moon is a mixed blessing in celestial navigation be- The altitude corrections for the moon are listed in a
cause when very prominent in the night sky its glare on the special table on the back inside cover of the Nautical Alma-
water can distort the horizon below it. Crescent moons, nac. There are two tables; one for Ha in the range of 0° to
however, can be an asset in some circumstances. 35°, and one for 35° to 90°. These are Tables T-13 and 14 in
The moon is most useful in routine navigation for day- the Tables Selections.
  # '    '     T    €     altitude correction and the
throughout the month, as explained in Section 9.10. For additional altitude correction in this table. The altitude
now, the task is how to do the sight reductions, which is the correction depends on Ha. Go across the top of the table
same regardless of the phase of the moon. You will soon to the correct range of Ha, and then down the column to
note that our work forms make doing moon sights as easy the degrees part of Ha, and then farther on down till you
as any other sight, despite the fact that the moon has a few are opposite the minutes part of Ha, which are listed at the
extra steps to its sight reduction.     
In the Emergency Navigation book, we show the real altitude correction; record it in the corresponding space on
power of the moon—its ability to tell us UTC if we happen the work form.
to lose that crucial component of celestial navigation. The &'    ˜ 
moon is the only body in the sky that moves relative to the the same column and continue on down to the bottom part
stars fast enough to tell time from its position. The proce- of the table, and stop when you are opposite the value of
dures for extracting that data from moon sights, however, )[   # (         
is not at all routine and takes special instruction and re- are two corrections; one is for upper limb sights (U), the
sources. other is for lower limb sights (L). Choose the appropriate
€   T'  one and record it in the space marked “additional altitude
is the last body to cover, and following that there is dis-  œ       ' T  
cussion of how to optimize the use of the moon in daily for the moon.
procedures. If the moon sight is of the upper limb, enter a -30’
in the space marked “upper limb moon.” For lower limb
sights we just ignore this space on the work form. This step
9.2 Sight Reduction of the Moon is simply a trick the almanac does that allows the other two
Moon sight reductions are similar to planets—meaning corrections to always be positive. For upper limb sights you
they are done the same as a sun line with the addition of always subtract 30’ regardless of the size of Ha.
a v-correction to the GHA and an additional altitude cor- To get Ho, add to Ha all corrections listed below it.
 )'
 T  For lower limb sights, these are the altitude correction and
make moon sights easy. the additional altitude correction; and for upper limb, it is
The steps listed below are illustrated in Figure 9.2-1. these two and an additional -30’.
}$T_(`#(K [ - The rest of the moon’s sight reduction is the same as
ply copy everything down on the work form exactly as it is any other sight reduction. The d-value for the moon is list-
  jK [Nauti- ed every hour, but we use it the same way we do for sun and
cal Almanac. This will include the GHA, v-value, declina- T [ 
 _`' 
 ~ ')[horizontal or planets by noting if the declination is increasing (+) or
T#   K [ decreasing (-) with time. Don’t make the mistake of using
  'T)[  the d-value itself for this. The d-value can go up with time
of the distance to the moon, which changes throughout the when the declination is going down, and vice versa.
)[     
to Ha, which depends on the distance to the moon. Form sections that are different for the moon are shown
#T #(*
 } $T _*` # *   ~    )
in the Increments and Corrections pages. The procedure is
exactly the same as it is with planet sights.
 Chapter 10

PRINCIPLES OF CEL NAV

10.1 A One-hour Course in Cel Nav
If we understand just a few principles of celestial naviga- globe of the earth, although they don’t usually show the
tion, we can begin to use it immediately. To punctuate that map of the earth, but rather just a blue background. All the
thought, with just this Section 10.1 alone you should be relative positions of the stars within the constellations are
     '   T   '   laid out on a sphere (Figure 10.1-2). Just imagine now that
place at sea, with nothing more than a Nautical Almanac that sphere is a globe of the earth.
' T  ' If you happened to be located at the GP of a star, you
have relied upon in earlier parts of the book. would observe that star precisely overhead—the laser beam
To begin with, the only reason we need a full book on going right through the top of your head. If you had a sex-
celestial navigation—as opposed to knowing it intuitively tant, you would measure its height above the horizon as
since birth—is the fact that the earth turns on its axis, once exactly 90°, ie overhead. If you were not at the GP of a star,
every 24 hours. To prove this point, we look at the conse- that star would not appear overhead but rather off of the
quences of stopping this motion. zenith, at a lower altitude in the sky. How much lower de-
The visible stars around us are more or less evenly dis- pends on how far you are from it.
tributed across the hemisphere of the sky we see, regard- There is a direct and simple correlation, which we will
less of whether we are in Seattle or in Auckland. In the real prove a bit later on. If you are 1° away from the GP, the star
world, if we watch these stars throughout the night we see will have moved down 1° from the zenith—it would be 89°
them rise from the eastern horizon, reach peak heights in high in the sky. Move 10° away from the GP and the star
the sky when bearing north or south, and then set some- would now be 80° high in the sky. We also clarify later that
where on the western horizon. But if we stop the earth, all a distance of one degree on the surface of the earth is equal
that motion stops. At the moment we stop the earth from to 60 nautical miles, but do not be distracted by these de-
rotating, every star we see in the sky freezes in position, tails at this point. The summary is all that matters: If you
right where it is, and it stays there, night after night, year are at the GP, the star is overhead, if you are away from the
  '  |- GP, the star is lower. As you move toward the GP, the star
ence on celestial navigation. would get higher, until you are precisely at the GP, at which
Imagine that each of these stars distributed across the it would be overhead. And remember, too, our model: the
stationary sky sent out a laser beam that went straight earth is not rotating, so the sky is permanent.
through the center of the earth (Figure 10.1-1). And as this If we happened to be about half way up Vancouver Is-
beam burned through the surface of the earth it made a land, BC, when we stopped the earth, then one star that
mark. That mark is called the geographical position of that might have stopped right overhead is Alkaid, on the tip of
star, usually abbreviated GP.
This is the concept underlying the construction of star
globes seen in astronomy displays or book stores periodi-
cally. It is a static projection of the stars down onto the

Figure 10.1-1 Stars mark-

ing Geographical Positions
on the earth.

Figure 10.1-2 Section of a star globe showing Big Dipper.

Chapter 11

In Depth...
This chapter gathers special topics so they do not distract from the basics. There is no particular order to the top-
  $T  
are just more practice or expanded coverage of earlier topics.

11.1 Bowditch and other References ..............................124

11.2 Taking Your Departure........................................... 125
11.3 Electronic Navigation .............................................126
11.4 Mercator Charts...................................................... 131
11.5 Time Keeping in Navigation ...................................132 New Terminology
11.6 Dip Short ................................................................136    \_)`
11.7 Solar Index Correction ...........................................138 departure
11.8 Optimizing Plastic and Metal Sextant Sights ........ 141 T
11.9 Longitude from LAN ..............................................144 GPS, WAAS, COG, SOG, VMG
11.10 Ocean Plotting Sheets ...........................................146 great circle sailing (GC)
11.11 Ocean Dead Reckoning ......................................... 147 International Date Line
11.12 Practice with Time Prediction ...............................151 local mean time (LMT)
11.13 Practice Choosing the AP ......................................151 Mercator chart
11.14 Practice with Pub. 249 Vol. 2, 3............................ 153 Mercator sailing
11.15 AM to PM Running Fixes...................................... 154 mid-latitude sailing
11.16 An Ocean-going Nav Station ................................ 155 parallel sailing
11.17 Offshore Navigation Checklist .............................. 157 rhumb line (RL)
11.18 Checking a Sextant with the Stars ........................158 set and wait method
=  ) \................................................. 161 small angle rule
11.20 Storm Warnings at Sea ........................................164 solar index correction
11.21 Compass Checks at Sea ......................................... 165 standard time
11.22 Great Circle Sailing...............................................166 €€ˆ€€ˆ)
11.23 Rhumb-line Sailing ..............................................169 zone time (ZT)
11.24 Optimizing Celestial Fixes.................................... 174
11.25 Star and Planet ID ...............................................178
11.26 Emergency Procedures.........................................183
11.27 Pub. 249 Vol. 1, Selected Stars .............................184
11.28 Computed Solutions .............................................189
11.29 NAO Sight Reduction Tables ............................... 191
11.30 N(x) Table.............................................................196
11.31 Nuts and Bolts of Ocean Navigation ....................199
11.32 Most Likely Position from Three LOPs............... 202
 Appendix 1

Glossary
    
   
   -
    
  
         
      
    Abbreviations 
 

a-value — Same as Altitude Intercept. Called the “a-val- only true if these two light rays are parallel. So for these
ue,” it is the difference, found in the last step of a sight three close bodies this extra correction is required. See
reduction, between the calculated height (Hc) and the Parallax.
observed height (Ho) of a celestial body. It is used for Another, completely different, type of Additional Alti-
plotting the LOP. It is labeled A (away) if Hc is greater tude Correction is also discussed and tabulated in the
than Ho, or T (toward) if Hc is less than Ho. In physi- Table A4 of the Nautical Almanac. These are additional
cal terms, “a” tells if we are closer or farther from the corrections for non-standard refraction in unusual at-
GP than the assumed position is. An a-value of 20’ T, mospheric conditions. In principle, these corrections
for example, means your true position is 20’ (20 nmi) apply to all sights, but from a practical point of view
closer to the GP than the assumed position is. they can be neglected. The corrections are very small for
Accuracy — The difference between your true position all sights except those near the horizon (which should
  # T          be avoided anyway if possible). There is no space for
sights. Generally this is better thought of as the uncer- this type of additional correction on the Starpath work
    # '  '   T   forms. It is recommended that this atmospheric correc-
good sextant, should be less than 3 or 4 miles routinely. tion just be ignored, but bear in mind that any sights
This can be improved to about 0.5 miles, but this re- within some 5° of the horizon will be uncertain by plus
quires special care, especially when moving. Anything  Š$^ 
over about 10 miles indicates some problem with proce- Advanced LOP — A Line of Position that has been shifted
dures or equipment. A rough way to judge your accura- on the chart or plotting sheet to correct for the boat’s
cy is the size of the triangle of crossed lines of position, motion since the time of the sight. Section 11.24 in-
assuming that each side of the triangle represents the cludes a method of numerically advancing an LOP by
average of several sights of the same body. The most ac- – ~$^ “ #
# *     
120° apart. See Sextant Sights and Fix. Air Almanac — A questionable alternative to the Nauti-
cal Almanac that some very few marine navigators pre-
Accuracy in dead reckoning is the difference between fer. It is not as convenient to use, nor as complete, nor
 # T     K^ T          (<<%  K} 
 # €        not recommended.
reckoning this should be no worse than about 15 per-
  #  Altitude — Same as Height. A general name for the an-
T  T$K gular height of a celestial body above the horizon that
^
  is determined from a sextant measurement or sight re-
duction. Angular height is often called “altitude” in oth-
Additional Altitude Correction — Used only in the # 
€    \ 
sight reduction of the moon, Mars, or Venus (the three height is 0°; when a body is overhead, its height is 90°.
closest celestial bodies), this correction accounts for the The term is used more precisely depending on the num-
parallax of their light rays—that is, since each of these ber of corrections that have been made to the sextant
bodies is so close to the earth, the light ray we see it with measurement. See Sextant Height, Apparent Height,
is not strictly parallel to the light ray from it that passes Observed Height, and Calculated Height.
through its geographical position (GP). The theory of
celestial navigation assumes that the distance along Altitude Correction — €       
the earth’s surface between the observer and the GP is    # 
equal to the zenith distance (z) of the body, but this is to get the observed height. This term actually describes
Appendix 2

Answers

Examples with Full Work Form Solutions*

Sight Body Date DR Exercise Solution
Sun #1 LL 25 Oct 78 44 50 N, 139 15 W 68 68
Sun #2 LL 26 Jul 78 44 40 N, 123 00 W 72 226
Sun #3 LL 24 Jul 78 44 50 N, 123 36 W 72 226
Sun #4 LL 25 Jul 78 45 26 N, 134 30 W 73 227
Sun #5 LL 25 Jul 78 45 26 N, 134 30 W 73 227
Sun#6 LL 27 Oct 78 45 53 N, 131 24 W 79 229
Sun #7 LL 27 Oct 78 45 53 N, 131 24 W 79 229
Sun #8 LL 26 Jul 78 45 21 N, 122 39 W 104 241
Sun #9 LL 11 Jul 86 25 13 N, 147 15 W 279 279

Star #1 Altair 24 Jul 78 45 30 N, 126 27 W 85 85

Star #2 Arcturus 24 Jul 78 45 30 N, 120 58 W 85 234
Star #3 Altair 24 Jul 78 44 36 N, 122 14 W 86 234
Star #4 Antares 24 Jul 78 44 36 N, 122 14 W 86 236
Star #5 Arcturus 25 Jul 78 44 40 N, 126 27 W 87 237
Star #6 Regulus 27 Mar 81 45 21 N, 130 03 W 87 237
Star #7 Hamal 26 Oct 78 45 05 N, 160 25 E 98 238
Star #8 Sirius 25 Jul 78 45 30 S, 033 40 W 98 239
Star #9 Arcturus 26 Oct 78 45 05 N, 160 25 E 105 243
Star #10 Rigil Kent. 2 Sep 86 31 09 S, 157 48 E 281 281

Planet #1 Venus 27 Oct 78 44 50 S, 015 10 E 96 96

Planet #2 Jupiter 26 Oct 78 45 05 N, 160 25 E 97 238
Planet #3 Venus 25 Jul 78 45 30 S, 033 40 W 97 239
Planet #4 Venus 2 Sep 86 31 09 S, 157 48 E 282 282

Moon #1 UL 25 Oct 78 44 50 N, 40 20 W 103 240

Moon #2 UL 26 Jul 78 44 58 N, 122 24 W 104 241
Moon #3 UL 26 Oct 78 45 05 N, 160 25 E 105 243
Moon #4 LL 27 Mar 81 45 16 N, 140 20 W 106 244
Moon #5 LL 11 Jul 86 25 13 N, 147 15 W 281 281

* Over the years we have learned that having this indexed list of fully worked examples is helpful for cross referencing.
Please note the list is here and use it as called for. The last example of each body is in the Instructions to using Work Form
104 in the Appendix. On the right are the page numbers.
 Answers

9.5 Moon-Sun Running Fix, Moon #2

WT h m s date body Hs
7 50 07 26 July 1978 UL Moon 51 ° 25.2 ´
WE DR log index corr.
1 +S -F -13 Lat 44° 58’ N 852.0 + off - on 0.0'
ZD DR HE DIP
+W -E +7 Lon 122° 24’ W ft 16 - -3.9'
UTC h m s UTC date / LOP label Ha
14 49 54 C 335T 51 ° 21.3 ´
1449 July 26 UL Moon
S 7.8 Kt
v
40.8 ´ +-
GHA Dec d HP
2 hr. 126° 00.2 ´ moon
planets 12.1 hr N 8° +9 moon 56.6

+ 7.4 ´
GHA + d + additional
m.s. + 11 ° 54.4 ´ corr. - altitude corr. +3.3'
3 SHA +
or ° + 10.0 ´
stars
or
Dec
N 8°
Dec
min 48.2 ´
moon, mars, venus
altitude corr.
all sights +45.9'
v corr. moon, planets
GHA upper limb
137 ° 64.6 ´ tens d
moon
subtract 30’ -30.0'
d upper Ho
138° 04.6' units d 51 ° 40.5 ´
a-Lon
-W+E - 122 ° 04.6 ´
d
dsd
+
lower
dsd T
LHA corr. Hc
16 ° 00´ W / 60´ E
d.
Pub. 229 A 51 ° 15.2 ´
corr.
a= 25.3' TA
LHA tab d Z
16 ° 5 Hc 50 ° 29 ´ +
- + 57 155 Zn = 205°
Dec d. Dec
8° S N + 46.2 ´
N a - Lat =
4 deg corr.
Pub. 249
min 48.2' 45°N
45 ° S N 6
a-Lat Hc
50 ° 75.2 ´
N a - Lon = 122°04.6' W

The plot of these sights are on the following page.

9.6 Moon-Sun Running Fix, Sun #8
WT h
11 05 m 19 s date
26 July 1978 body
LL Sun Hs
51 ° 53.6 ´
WE DR log index corr.
1 +S -F -13 Lat 45° 21’ N 876.4 + off - on 0.0'
ZD DR HE DIP
+W -E +7 Lon 122° 39’ W ft 16 - -3.9'
UTC h m s UTC date / LOP label Ha
18 05 06 C 335T 51 ° 49.7 ´
1805 0. July 26
S 7.8 Kt
v
23.9 ´ +-
GHA Dec d HP
2 hr. 88° 23.3 ´ moon
planets — hr N 19 ° -0.5 moon —

-0.0 ´
GHA + d + additional
m.s. + 1° 16.5 ´ corr. - altitude corr. —
3 SHA +
or
—° —´
stars
or
Dec
N 19°
Dec
min 23.9 ´
moon, mars, venus
altitude corr.
all sights +15.2'
v corr. moon, planets
GHA upper limb
89 ° 39.8 ´ tens d
moon
subtract 30’ —
d upper Ho
— — units d 52 ° 4.9 ´
a-Lon
-W+E - 122 ° 39.8 ´
d
dsd
+
lower
dsd T
LHA corr. Hc
-33 ° 00´ W / 60´ E d.
Pub. 229 A 52 ° 34.9 ´
corr.
+360° a= 30.0' TA
LHA tab d Z
327 ° 5 Hc 52 ° 16 ´ +
- + 47 123° Zn = 123°
Dec d. Dec
° + 18.9 ´
N a - Lat =
4 deg 19 S N corr.
Pub. 249
min 23.9’ 45°N
45 ° S N 6
a-Lat Hc
52 ° 34.9 ´
N a - Lon = 122°39.8' W

237
Celestial Navigation: A Complete Home Study Course

Plot of Moon-Sun Running Fix, Moon #2, 0Sun #8

124 W 123 W 122 W

44 N

70
0 10
350

60
20
340
50’
0 30

50
33

0 40
32
C3 8 40’ 40
S7
35

50
0
31

30
144 30’
9-

60
0
30

>1 Log 876.4

805
20
20’

70
290

C3 8
S7
35
10

80
280

10’

.
26

Log
uly

45 N 852.0

90
270

_J
5_

144
180

950’J
260

100
uly 10
26
Fix UL
Moo
45º 14’ N, n
250

110
40’
20
33º 18’ W
24

0
12
0

30’ 30
23

0
13
0

1449 UT Moon #2 20’

40
22
0 0
14
a = 25.3’ T L€

21
0 Zn = 205º 50
50

1
10’ €
a-Lat =20045º N 160
60

190 170
180
6 a-Lon = 122º 04.6’ W €
70

46 N
1805 UT Sun #8 E€

a = 30.0’ A €
Zn = 123º 50’

€
a-Lat = 45º N
6 a-Lon = 122º 39.8’ W €

238
Appendix 3

Table Selections
CONTENTS
The notation “T-1,” “T-2,” etc, is for easy cross reference within this book or classroom only. This nota-
tion is not used elsewhere in navigation, and it does not appear in the Nautical Almanac. These Table
Selections are available as a free pdf download from www.starpath.com/celnavbook, if it might be more
convenient to have them separate from the book.

T-1 Nautical Almanac 1978, Jul 24, 25, 26 planets and stars................244
T-2 Nautical Almanac 1978, Jul 24, 25, 26 sun and moon ....................245
T-3 Nautical Almanac 1978, Oct 25, 26, 27 planets and stars ...............246
T-4 Nautical Almanac 1978, Oct 25, 26, 27 sun and moon....................247
T-5 Nautical Almanac 1981, Mar 26, 27, 28 planets and stars ............. 248
T-6 Nautical Almanac 1981, Mar 26, 27, 28 sun and moon...................249

T-7 Conversion of Arc to Time .................................................................250

T-8 Altitude Corrections Sun, Planets, Stars ........................................... 251

T-9 Increments and corrections 4m and 5m ...........................................252

T-10 Increments and corrections 6m and 7m............................................253
T-11 Increments and corrections 48m and 49m .......................................254
T-12 Increments and corrections 50m and 51m ........................................255
T-13 Altitude Corrections Moon, 35° to 90° ..............................................256
T-14 Altitude Corrections Moon, 0° to 35° ................................................257

T-15 Pub. 249, Vol 2, Lat 45, Dec (0-14), Same Name ..............................258
T-16 Pub. 249, Vol 2, Lat 45, Dec (0-14), Contrary Name ........................259
T-17 Pub. 249, Vol 2, Lat 45, Dec (0-14), Contrary Name ....................... 260
T-18 Pub. 249, Vol 2, Lat 45. Dec (15-29) Same Name ............................. 261
T-19 Pub. 249, Vol 2, Lat 45, Dec (15-29), Same Name ............................262
T-20 Pub. 249, Vol 2, Lat 45, Dec (15-29), Contrary Name .......................263

T-21 Table 5. Pub. 249 Corrections to Hc for Minutes of Declination ......264

T-22 Polaris Corrections .............................................................................265

T-23 Pub. 249, short sections (for problem 6.6)........................................266

T-24 Pub. 249, short sections (for problem 6.6)........................................267
T-25 Pub. 249, short sections (for problem 6.6)....................................... 268
T-26 Pub. 249, short sections (for problem 5.7) ........................................269

T-27 Starpath N(x) Table for Emergency Sight Reduction .......................270

T-28 Emergency Almanac for the Sun ....................................................... 271
 Appendix 4

Work forms
Contents
Overview of Starpath Work Forms ....................................................................272
Sun Sights with Form 104..................................................................................273
Moon Sights with Form 104 ..............................................................................275
Star Sights with Form 104 .................................................................................275
Planet Sights with Form 104..............................................................................277
Form 104 (2 Up) ................................................................................................278
Form 106 for NAO Tables, with Short Instructions ..........................................279
Form 106 for NAO Tables (2 Up) ......................................................................280
Form 108 Combined Forms 104 and 106 ..........................................................282
Form 107 for LAN ..............................................................................................283
Form 109 for Finding Index Correction by the Solar Method ..........................284

Overview of Starpath Work Forms

Not all celestial navigators use work forms to help with the all sights are done essentially the same way. Another goal
paper work, but I think it fair to say that most do. Or at was to have a place to write in every step of the process, and
least most—even very experienced navigators—like to have         |' 
the forms at hand just in case they are needed. There are the process. Alternative designs that one sees are typically
a lot of steps in the process, and we may have to do the vertical strip forms that usually do not meet any of these
work when very tired and not feeling well, as the boat rocks criteria.
around in the seas. Having a guide that takes you step by The Form 106 that we have for the NAO Tables is espe-
step, with little thought required, can be a blessing. So even cially valuable because the original instructions for the pro-
if you do not use them routinely, it is good to add them cess given in the #
  '
to your checklist and have at least one of each type tucked As a result of that problem, these valuable tables have not
away in the almanac. Also, these days we rely mainly on been used as much as they deserve. Some instructors go so
GPS, so we might be rusty when we need to do the sights. far as to ridicule the NAO Tables for their complexity, driv-
For those who want to use them routinely, you can copy the ing new users away before they even get to try them. Mis-
ones in this book, or download from www.starpath.com/ guided magazine articles have not helped. Our Form 106
celnavbook. makes the process very simple, and with just a few samples
The course presented in this book proceeds by giving worked you will be doing them automatically.
T T    We postpone the use of NAO tables till the end of the
That we might think of as the  through the mate- course simply because they do introduce a few extra steps
rials—the place you learn it and practice it. The detailed at a time you are already learning a lot of new tables. Once
form instructions (to follow) is a summary of the process. you have had the experience of sight reductions with Pub
So these form instructions are a   through the 249, however, it takes just 20 minutes or so to master these
process. new ones. These tables have a great virtue these days when
The     is the set of forms themselves. cel nav is often just a back up to GPS. Since there is a full
'
'#T'  set of the NAO Tables in every #
 , you just
the form itself, without any further instructions, will guide need buy one book to have a complete solution. Pub 249,
you through the process for each of the celestial bodies. and especially Pub 229, are large, heavy books when it
We have heard back many times from navigators who comes to stowage on a small boat at sea. Also if you choose
have been away from the subject for a long time, who told to do cel nav by computation, then the NAO Tables, as part
us how easy it was to recall the paperwork with the use of of the Almanac are a natural back up.
these forms. This was, of course, an intention of the forms,
along with the main design criteria that they be such that
 Glossary

Index
A
C
accuracy
calculated height (Hc) 66, 205 drift 5, 76–77, 157, 207, 214
defined 203
calculators 8, 10, 14, 157, 191, 205 DR position 206, 207
of a sextant 158
celestial body 59, 75, 130, 165, 205 DR Track 207
of celestial fixes 7, 10, 174, 213
celestial navigation 2, 3, 7, 205 Dutton’s 124
of dip short 136
chronometer 6, 135, 205 d-value 206
of GPS 126, 129
of plastic sextants 141 chronometer log 59, 134, 135, 205, 273
circle of equal altitude 117–120, 205 E
of sextant sights 19, 26, 176, 214
of time 199 circle of position 193, 205, 208, 218 easy LAN rule 30, 39, 42, 207
of watch time 135, 218 circumpolar stars 180, 205 ecliptic 207
advanced LOP 75, 177, 203 civil twilight 58, 83, 184, 205 electronic charting system (ECS) 129,
Air Almanac 203 closing suns 163 146, 167
altitude correction 34–38, 36, 39, 66, compass checks 165, 205 electronic compasses 129
84, 88, 91, 94, 100–102, 164, 183, compass rose 9, 45, 49, 183, 205–206, elevated pole 204, 207
186, 203 212–213 ellipsoidal distance 167, 201
additional altitude correction 100, computed solutions 119, 189–190 Emergency Navigation Card by David
203 computer navigation 44 Burch 158, 183, 196, 271
altitude intercept (a-value). See a-value contrary name 38, 206 EPIRB 207
amplitude 204 course 206 equation of time 43
antenna 129 course over ground (COG) 127–130, equation of time (EqT) 32, 33, 207, 241
apparent height 34, 204 206 equinox 29, 39, 43, 59, 144, 181, 182,
approach cone 201 cross track error (XTE) 128 207, 216–217
arc to time conversion 31, 32 D
Aries 83–84, 178, 182, 204 F
artificial horizon 161–163 daily pages 36, 60 fast position plotting 127
assumed latitude (a-Lat) 47, 63, 73, 80, Davies Tables 191, 206. See also NAO fix 2, 5, 6, 174, 207
204 tables fluxgate compass 130
assumed longitude (a-Lon) 47, 63–64, daylight saving time 132, 133, 182, 216, full-view mirror 22, 158, 207, 208, 215
80, 151, 204 219
assumed position (AP) 49, 63, 204 d-correction 39, 61, 65–66, 84, 94, 206, G
automatic identification system (AIS) 275
126 dead reckoning (DR) 206 geographical position (GP) 29, 109,
a-value 47, 49, 204, 205 accuracy 43 114, 115, 119, 207
a-Value 67 ocean 147–150 global positioning system (GPS) 59,
azimuth angle (Z) 65, 119, 204, 273 plotting 9 75, 125, 126–130, 132, 157, 161, 191,
azimuth line 49, 52, 70, 118, 204, 275 update the DR plot 217 207
azimuth (Zn) 47, 204, 273 declination 29–30, 36–38, 60, 206 great circle 166–169, 189, 207, 209, 213
declination increment 206, 277 great circle charts 168
B departure 125, 128, 158 Greenwich hour angle 62, 207
deviation 197, 205, 206 Greenwich hour angle (GHA) 208
bearing 12, 14, 47, 49, 75, 77, 205 Greenwich meridian 11, 31, 43, 113,
Big Dipper 110, 179–185, 204, 205 dip correction 22, 34–35, 136–137, 206
dip short 20, 136–137, 159, 161, 175 134, 208
Bowditch 19, 43, 124, 125, 137, 169,
171, 172, 173, 191, 205, 214 dividers 45, 47, 49, 80, 155–157, 206,
212

285
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