Next message: : "Re: CelNav without sextant"
Yes,there are plenty of ways to navigate(blue water,ice/polar,land)using
events and bodies without ever having a sextant.
The Arabs (and other cultures from antiquety) used "latitude hooks" to find
latitude from the altitude of Polaris.They also used devices even earlier in
time (history) in conjuction with precomputed seasonal positions of Vega and
other bodies.
The polynesians used star positions,sea currents and other phenomina to
navigate successfully in blue water voyages.
The Inuits and other native polar people used seasonal celestial bodies and
events to guide them across ice masses and water.
Native American tribes used natural terrestrial points and seasonal
celestial events and bodies to find their way across vast tracks of the
plains and mountains.All the native peoples of the world used celestial
events to remind them to move to new areas to hunt and plant.
I got a Bris "sextant" not to long ago.Simple to use and based on kind of a
sun "hook" technique.Some reduction is required from the raw altitudes it
measures but the resulting line or lines it gives are fairly fast to obtain
and fairly accurate.Ballpark accuracy.I've only played around with it in the
backyard at a stationary position.
Define what you mean by "accuracy".
