Tag Archives: celestial navigation

Sextants in Celestial Navigation

Posted on September 16, 2024 by Leo Silva

Blog #2 – Leo Celestial navigation– also known as “astronavigation”– is a practice of nearly 4,000 years (HistoryHit, How Celestial Navigation Changed Maritime History) where an individual can determine their location in space or the Earth’s surface using the positions of other celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, other planets, and stars. Throughout history, […] Continue reading →

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Blog Post 2: Celestial Navigation

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Myles7235

In order to navigate the vast seas when traveling in today’s time, we can easily use modern technology to pinpoint exactly where we are in the ocean. A prime example of this type of technology would be GPS systems. However, GPS systems haven’t been around forever. Celestial navigation is the art of determining both the […] Continue reading →

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All Things Must Come to an End

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Natalie_paige

I’ll admit, at first when I had to go out observing I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of leaving my cozy dorm to walk a good 15 minutes to stare at the night sky. However when I got there and really had a chance to stop and really look at the sky and see the […] Continue reading →

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We know the way

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Natalie_paige

A long time ago, before we had our fancy GPS and siri to tell us where to go and how to get to and from places, we had to rely on the sky, more specifically the stars (the Sun included). We learned to use the stars and Sun to tell time and by creating angle […] Continue reading →

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Celestial Navigation in Disney’s Moana

Posted on February 24, 2021 by thestarstudent

Celestial Navigation was essential for Polynesian voyagers, and the Disney Film Moana does a very good job of depicting legitimate techniques. During the film’s production, Disney created a group of experts on the matter, including Polynesian elders and locals, called the Oceanic Story Trust. Their goal was to advise on cultural accuracy. Thousands of yearsContinue reading “Celestial Navigation in Disney’s Moana” Continue reading →

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What is celestial navigation?

Posted on February 10, 2020 by abbigailhughes

Those who use the placement of stars in the night sky in order to determine where to go to are using a practice called celestial navigation. Ancient peoples noticed the patterns associated with stars in the night sky and were able to study and record them in order to teach the following generations how toContinue reading “What is celestial navigation?” Continue reading →

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Celestial Navigation: How Our Ancestors Used to Travel

Posted on February 11, 2019 by kierannaughton5896

Before the time of GPS, and all the modern forms of navigation we use today, people used to travel with the stars. Through the use of angular measurements, the sun, moon, planets, and stars could be used to find a position on earth. By looking at the angles between these celestial bodies the horizon, and … Continue reading Celestial Navigation: How Our Ancestors Used to Travel → Continue reading →

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Blog 2: Celestial Navigation

Posted on February 15, 2017 by mchastr2110

Even though astronomers use scales such as arcseconds and arcminutes to measure certain distances between stars, the main tool of celestial navigation, the sextant, is only able to measure arcminutes. The sextant uses reflection in order to find the angle of celestial objects. Traditionally, the sextant has two mirrors. The horizon mirror is stationary and … Continue reading Blog 2: Celestial Navigation Continue reading →

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Celestial Navigation

Posted on February 16, 2016 by siyuan2016

Navigational Compass used in Ming Dynasty      image source Before the invention of artificial satellites and development of data transformation, celestial navigation played an indispensable role in human’s exploration and discovery of newfound lands. And in this blog, I would like to introduce some celestial navigating technologies implemented in Zheng He’s treasury voyage, one […] Continue reading →

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Blog Post #3: The Magellanic Clouds

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Elizabeth D.

When we were discussing celestial navigation in class, a thought occurred to me: if Polaris cannot be seen in the …

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