One sight at local noon yields your latitude and longitude.

Poor Ole Thom who claims to have used a sextant seems to
not understand this simple fact.

1) the angle of the sun at local noon gives you your latitude.

2) the time differential of the sun's azimuth from Greenwich
mean time gives you the longitude. Expensive chronographs
are no longer necessary. GPS time is plenty accurate enough
as well as a good quartz watch set to radio signals from WWV.

I can take one noon sight anywhere in the world covered by the
tables I have on board, correct it for errors and come up with
my position within ten miles easily every time provided it is not
overcast, raining or some such.

Celestial navigation in its most basic form - the noon sight - is
no mystery. Why, I bet even otnmbrd and Shen44 are able to
do it which means any old moron can do it - even Bobsprit most
likely.

S.Simon - has taken more noon sights than cherries!

Now you've said something I totally and completely believe. Since you've
had no cherries, you need not have taken more than one noon sight for your
statement to be beyond all doubt.

"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
One sight at local noon yields your latitude and longitude.

Poor Ole Thom who claims to have used a sextant seems to
not understand this simple fact.

1) the angle of the sun at local noon gives you your latitude.

2) the time differential of the sun's azimuth from Greenwich
mean time gives you the longitude. Expensive chronographs
are no longer necessary. GPS time is plenty accurate enough
as well as a good quartz watch set to radio signals from WWV.


Neal! Are you hoping that somebody will be stupid enough to point out that
using a GPS as the time source for your sextant readings is a bit pointless?
Well, I won't help you out!






I can take one noon sight anywhere in the world covered by the
tables I have on board, correct it for errors and come up with
my position within ten miles easily every time provided it is not
overcast, raining or some such.

Of course you can be accurate to within 10 miles. You don't really think
that your engine block could drag more than 10 miles, do you?





Celestial navigation in its most basic form - the noon sight - is
no mystery. Why, I bet even otnmbrd and Shen44 are able to
do it which means any old moron can do it - even Bobsprit most
likely.

I agree. Any idiot could brandish a sextant, and accurately position
Bobsprit's boat, because it never moves more than half a mile from the dock.
I bet that your own sextant fixes are even more accurate than Bob's!



S.Simon - has taken more noon ****es than sherries!



Regards


Donal
--

Why is it pointless? A time signal can come from only
one GPS satellite and be reliable. It usually takes at
least three satellites to five an accurate fix.

S.Simon


"Donal" wrote in message ...

"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
One sight at local noon yields your latitude and longitude.

Poor Ole Thom who claims to have used a sextant seems to
not understand this simple fact.

1) the angle of the sun at local noon gives you your latitude.

2) the time differential of the sun's azimuth from Greenwich
mean time gives you the longitude. Expensive chronographs
are no longer necessary. GPS time is plenty accurate enough
as well as a good quartz watch set to radio signals from WWV.


Neal! Are you hoping that somebody will be stupid enough to point out that
using a GPS as the time source for your sextant readings is a bit pointless?
Well, I won't help you out!






I can take one noon sight anywhere in the world covered by the
tables I have on board, correct it for errors and come up with
my position within ten miles easily every time provided it is not
overcast, raining or some such.

Of course you can be accurate to within 10 miles. You don't really think
that your engine block could drag more than 10 miles, do you?





Celestial navigation in its most basic form - the noon sight - is
no mystery. Why, I bet even otnmbrd and Shen44 are able to
do it which means any old moron can do it - even Bobsprit most
likely.

I agree. Any idiot could brandish a sextant, and accurately position
Bobsprit's boat, because it never moves more than half a mile from the dock.
I bet that your own sextant fixes are even more accurate than Bob's!



S.Simon - has taken more noon ****es than sherries!



Regards


Donal
--

Please! I'm laughing so hard my side will split!!!!!!

"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
Why is it pointless?

That's funny

You're a real genius.


Regards


Donal
--

BG I wonder how long it will take him to "get it"

Donal wrote:
"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...

Why is it pointless?


That's funny

You're a real genius.


Regards


Donal
--

Once again Neal has blown a chance to impress. If he had made a reasonable
claim, it might have been believable. But by claiming the impossible, he proves
that he really knows nothing of celestial.

comments interspersed ...

"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
One sight at local noon yields your latitude and longitude.

Clearly not true - for starters, you can't take "one sight at local noon" unless
you already know your longitude. If Neal had actually ever taken a Noon Sight,
he would know this!


Poor Ole Thom who claims to have used a sextant seems to
not understand this simple fact.

1) the angle of the sun at local noon gives you your latitude.

2) the time differential of the sun's azimuth from Greenwich
mean time gives you the longitude.

True, but its a very tedious process for even an approximate position. It can't
be done with "one sight."

Expensive chronographs are no longer necessary.

This has been true for almost a century.

GPS time is plenty accurate enough

Well, duh!

as well as a good quartz watch set to radio signals from WWV.

Even a cheap quartz watch will do.


I can take one noon sight anywhere in the world covered by the
tables I have on board, correct it for errors and come up with
my position within ten miles easily every time provided it is not
overcast, raining or some such.

Nonsense. The "zenith distance" of the Sun varies less than one second for
almost two minutes at local noon. During this time the Earth moves about 30
miles at the Equator. And that's with one second accuracy! One minute
accuracy is considered pretty good - that might leave you 100 miles away.
Celestaire says Neal's plastic sextant typically has a 5 minute error.

And Neal is claiming he can do this with one sight! While it is possible to do
this for latitude, it is completely impossible for longitude.


Celestial navigation in its most basic form - the noon sight - is
no mystery. Why, I bet even otnmbrd and Shen44 are able to
do it which means any old moron can do it - even Bobsprit most
likely.

S.Simon - has taken more noon sights than cherries!


I'll believe that! He may have done one sight!


--
-jeff
"Constant Vigilance!" - Frances W. Wright, author of "Celestial Navigation,"
instructor of thousands of navigators, myself included.

"Jeff Morris" wrote in message ...
Once again Neal has blown a chance to impress. If he had made a reasonable
claim, it might have been believable. But by claiming the impossible, he proves
that he really knows nothing of celestial.

comments interspersed ...

"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
One sight at local noon yields your latitude and longitude.

Clearly not true - for starters, you can't take "one sight at local noon" unless
you already know your longitude. If Neal had actually ever taken a Noon Sight,
he would know this!

Hey, dummy! Celestial is based heavily on dead reckoning. Longitude can
be pretty closely gleaned by dead reckoning using only one noon sight
per day. The more accurate your dead reckoning the less time you have
to sit on the house bringing old sol down to the horizon and checking if
your angle is getting larger (patience), has stabilized (fix) or is getting
smaller (you missed it) Local noon is local noon is local noon. One needs
only an accurate watch to time when the sun is at noon. The tables then
tell you your longitude when this angle and time occurs and the offset
from GMT. It seems to me that YOU are the one lacking in working
knowledge of noon sights.



Poor Ole Thom who claims to have used a sextant seems to
not understand this simple fact.

1) the angle of the sun at local noon gives you your latitude.

2) the time differential of the sun's azimuth from Greenwich
mean time gives you the longitude.

True, but its a very tedious process for even an approximate position. It can't
be done with "one sight."

Yes it can. That's the beauty of the noon sight. One sight does it all.


Expensive chronographs are no longer necessary.

This has been true for almost a century.

GPS time is plenty accurate enough

Well, duh!

as well as a good quartz watch set to radio signals from WWV.

Even a cheap quartz watch will do.


I can take one noon sight anywhere in the world covered by the
tables I have on board, correct it for errors and come up with
my position within ten miles easily every time provided it is not
overcast, raining or some such.

Nonsense. The "zenith distance" of the Sun varies less than one second for
almost two minutes at local noon. During this time the Earth moves about 30
miles at the Equator. And that's with one second accuracy! One minute
accuracy is considered pretty good - that might leave you 100 miles away.
Celestaire says Neal's plastic sextant typically has a 5 minute error.

And Neal is claiming he can do this with one sight! While it is possible to do
this for latitude, it is completely impossible for longitude.

You are completely wrong. One accurate local noon angle of the sun
is ALL that's needed. The sun only stays at it's azimuth for one second.
A sight can be taken with a one or two second accuracy which is good
enough to place one in the ten-mile range which is all a sailor of a small
sailboat really needs.

Look at a sunset sometime. Tell me you cannot mark the exact second
the bottom limb touches the horizon. I can so you should be able to.
I don't know about your sextant buy mine allows me to create a sunset
at noon as I adjust the vernier. It is easy to tell when the sun touches
the horizon and then goes the other way. PUTZ! I can tell you are one
of these arrogant people who wish to muddle up the ease of a noon
sight so you can claim you do something magic with your sextant. It
simply ain't so. Any old fool can take a noon sight and ascertain their
position with great accuracy.

S.Simon

Neal ..... you don't know what you're talking about, go read some more.

otn

Simple Simon wrote:
"Jeff Morris" wrote in message ...

Once again Neal has blown a chance to impress. If he had made a reasonable
claim, it might have been believable. But by claiming the impossible, he proves
that he really knows nothing of celestial.

comments interspersed ...

"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...

One sight at local noon yields your latitude and longitude.

Clearly not true - for starters, you can't take "one sight at local noon" unless
you already know your longitude. If Neal had actually ever taken a Noon Sight,
he would know this!


Hey, dummy! Celestial is based heavily on dead reckoning. Longitude can
be pretty closely gleaned by dead reckoning using only one noon sight
per day. The more accurate your dead reckoning the less time you have
to sit on the house bringing old sol down to the horizon and checking if
your angle is getting larger (patience), has stabilized (fix) or is getting
smaller (you missed it) Local noon is local noon is local noon. One needs
only an accurate watch to time when the sun is at noon. The tables then
tell you your longitude when this angle and time occurs and the offset
from GMT. It seems to me that YOU are the one lacking in working
knowledge of noon sights.


Poor Ole Thom who claims to have used a sextant seems to
not understand this simple fact.

1) the angle of the sun at local noon gives you your latitude.

2) the time differential of the sun's azimuth from Greenwich
mean time gives you the longitude.

True, but its a very tedious process for even an approximate position. It can't
be done with "one sight."


Yes it can. That's the beauty of the noon sight. One sight does it all.


Expensive chronographs are no longer necessary.

This has been true for almost a century.


GPS time is plenty accurate enough

Well, duh!


as well as a good quartz watch set to radio signals from WWV.

Even a cheap quartz watch will do.


I can take one noon sight anywhere in the world covered by the
tables I have on board, correct it for errors and come up with
my position within ten miles easily every time provided it is not
overcast, raining or some such.

Nonsense. The "zenith distance" of the Sun varies less than one second for
almost two minutes at local noon. During this time the Earth moves about 30
miles at the Equator. And that's with one second accuracy! One minute
accuracy is considered pretty good - that might leave you 100 miles away.
Celestaire says Neal's plastic sextant typically has a 5 minute error.

And Neal is claiming he can do this with one sight! While it is possible to do
this for latitude, it is completely impossible for longitude.


You are completely wrong. One accurate local noon angle of the sun
is ALL that's needed. The sun only stays at it's azimuth for one second.
A sight can be taken with a one or two second accuracy which is good
enough to place one in the ten-mile range which is all a sailor of a small
sailboat really needs.

Look at a sunset sometime. Tell me you cannot mark the exact second
the bottom limb touches the horizon. I can so you should be able to.
I don't know about your sextant buy mine allows me to create a sunset
at noon as I adjust the vernier. It is easy to tell when the sun touches
the horizon and then goes the other way. PUTZ! I can tell you are one
of these arrogant people who wish to muddle up the ease of a noon
sight so you can claim you do something magic with your sextant. It
simply ain't so. Any old fool can take a noon sight and ascertain their
position with great accuracy.

S.Simon