INSTRUMENTAL SOLUTIONS IN CELESTIAL NAVIGATION

Samuel Herrick

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The various methods for reducing astronomical observations may be classified under three headings: tabular, graphic, and intrumental. The tabular methods, notably those based upon H.O. 214 and the British Astronomical Navigation Tables (H.O. 218), at the present time enjoy a polularity which has tended to obscure most of the developments in the other two fields. Though justified by the practical requirements of present-day navigation, this tendency should not be allowed to discourage investigation that might, under unforeseeable conditions in the future, become a sound theoretical basis for practical methods. Because of the relationship existing between instruments, indeed, there is already more than a suspicion that the former will become useful in connection with pilotless craft. This paper attempts to survey a selection of the mechanical devices already in existence and to suggest possible developments along the lines indicated by: (1) devices that give altitude and azimuth; (2) devices that give position; (3) devices that combine observation and reduction; (4) the need for increased accuracy.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 1, Number 2
Pages:	22 - 27
Cite this article:	Herrick, Samuel, "INSTRUMENTAL SOLUTIONS IN CELESTIAL NAVIGATION", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1946, pp. 22-27.
Full Paper:	ION Members: Free Download Non-Members: Free Download Sign In