K-12 METHOD BY CALCULATOR: A SINGLE PROGRAM FOR ALL CELESTIAL FIXES, DIRECTLY OR BY POSITION LINES

S. Kotlaric

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The method described is a single program method developed for a Texas Instruments SR-52 programmable hand-held calculator, but it can also be easily used on any other programmable calculator of the same or higher capacity. It provides a direct solution for latitude and longitude of the observer’s position from simultaneous or non-simultaneous observations of two celestial bodies (either the Sun, Moon, planets or stars), as well as from a double observation of one body (usually the Sun, which until now has been practiced by advancing the earlier position line to the time of the last observation), even for cases where the second observation is close to or exactly on the observer’s meridian. The coordinates of the fix are obtained directly on the sphere as the intersection of circles of position without the need to draw a diagram of the situation in the sky in order to decide what to do with calculated parameters, and thus obviating the necessity to determine position lines (intercepts and azimuths) by Marcq St. Hilaire method. In addition, the same program enables also the computation of intercepts and azimuths (position lines), and thus satisfies those navigators who prefer the St. Hilaire method of solution or want to use it for checking of the direct method.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 28, Number 1
Pages:	44 - 51
Cite this article:	Kotlaric, S., "K-12 METHOD BY CALCULATOR: A SINGLE PROGRAM FOR ALL CELESTIAL FIXES, DIRECTLY OR BY POSITION LINES", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 28, No. 1, Spring 1981, pp. 44-51.
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