The whys and wherefores of navigation

In embarking upon the study of navigation familiarity with the compass is the first logical step: the quick mental conversion of a course or direction given in points to the sam...

The sun is the center of the solar system, with all the planets, including the earth, revolving around it, some with orbits greater and others less than that of the earth. The p...

Owing to the important place that declination holds in nautical astronomy, a detailed explanation will appropriately follow closely in the wake of the preceding remarks. It must...

A thorough understanding of time, one of the most important elements in navigation, clears the way to a better idea of the theory of finding one’s position at sea; there is, in...

The observed altitude of a heavenly body, as measured with the sextant, requires treatment for numerous errors to reduce it to the true altitude and make it ready for use in wor...

It is surprising to us, in these advanced days of nautical science, to read of our adventurous ancestors of a century ago navigating their ships to all parts of the known and un...

Of all the navigational instruments now in practical use, there are few, if any, that exceed the mariner’s compass in usefulness to mankind. The part it has played in the develo...

The longitude of any position on the earth is its distance east or west from the meridian of Greenwich, which has been chosen as the meridian of origin. Longitude is measured on...

Every mariner who has reached a position in the profession where he is intrusted with the responsibilities of navigating a vessel is under obligation to the late Capt. Thomas H....

The moon is the most interesting of the heavenly bodies not only from a romantic viewpoint, but from the astronomical as well. Looking at the practical side, it is due mostly to...

A difficulty was encountered when the early cartographers attempted to represent the earth’s spherical surface on a flat sheet. It can not be done, of course, without distortion...