Direction and alternate methods
Subject: Direction and alternate methods
From: Royer, Doug (doug.royer@XXX.XXX)
Date: Tue Jun 10 2003 - 13:52:17 EDT
My opinion on this,for what it's worth,is to let the discussions evolve and
go where they will.One reason is because the older members of the list have
most likely discussed the topics of navigation ad nauseum and need other
stimuli to keep interested.Anyone can post a question or answer on any topic
on this list so why limit it.If a person has no interest in the thread of
the moment he can choose not to get involved or start another topic while
the origonal topic is being discussed at the same time.
Last week Jared wrote a post about error and useing a crayon.I found it to
be refreshing and an alternate method of looking at a problem.Like Jared I
get a headache when all this math is talked about.I am intertested in doing
Lunar distance observations but find the arithmatic and steps of the
corrections and the math of the proceedure tireing and tedious at best.I
find myself not wanting to complete one because of the tedious calculations
involved.I searched bookstores and sites on the net to find another method
because of my interest in completeing a Lunar.
A year ago I downloaded a tutorial about useing alternative methods to
calculate differant navigational problems.I started reading through the
pages and came to a chapter (chapter 7) that dealt with useing Lunar
observations to find time and longitude.The proceedure is called "Finding
Time and Longitude useing Lunar Distances by the Intercept Method".It has
half the number of calculations and corrections as does the method used by
Thompson (and others) and doesn't require the actual measurement of the
distance angle between the bodies involved.Have any of you heard of or used
this method?Would it be a topic of discussion that would interest
you?Unfortunately I only saved the hard copies of the download and can't
remember where I downloaded it from.If someone is interested I will research
and find where I got it and post the site on list because I don't have the
skill or time to draw the diagrams used to illistrate the proceedure and
send them to the list.
For my part I am going to study the proceedure closely the next few days and
try it useing the data I got from the Lunars I observed in May.
