A Short History of Polar Navigation

William E. Molett

Abstract:	The history of polar celestial navigation has been a Comedy of Errors. Very competent lower latitude navigators are easily confused by the convergence of the meridians at the Poles. When amateur navigators begin discussing the subject their conclusions are usually laughable. Ironically, within about 300 miles of the Poles, when the sun is above the horizon, celestial navigation is easier than anywhere else on earth. Simple addition and subtraction will give a good line of position any minute of the day if you know how it is done. Arthur R. Hinks explained the procedure at a Seminar held at Cambridge in November of 1909.[1]
Published in:	Proceedings of the 47th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1991) June 10 - 12, 1991 Williamsburg Hilton and National Conference Center Williamsburg, VA
Pages:	361 - 363
Cite this article:	Molett, William E., "A Short History of Polar Navigation," Proceedings of the 47th Annual Meeting of The Institute of Navigation (1991), Williamsburg, VA, June 1991, pp. 361-363.
Full Paper:	ION Members/Non-Members: 1 Download Credit Sign In