Nav 4 - Week 3 4

Celestial
Navigation
Celestial Bodies
LO2. Explain the significance of various
celestial bodies to navigation such as
planets, stars, the sun, and the moon.
Celestial Bodies
• Throughout history, celestial bodies have

played a crucial role in navigation, serving
as guideposts to sailors, explorers, and even
spacecraft venturing into the unknown.
• Here's a breakdown of their individual
significance:
The Sun:
• Primary use: Determining latitude. By measuring the
Sun's angular distance above the horizon at its highest
point (meridian transit), navigators can calculate their
latitude using specific calculations and reference tables.
• Advantages: Visible every day, predictable
movement, easy to locate.
• Disadvantages: Only reliable at noon, less accurate for
determining longitude.
The Moon:
• Primary use: Determining both latitude and
longitude. With its faster movement across the sky, the
Moon allows for more frequent "sights" for position
fixing.
• Advantages: Visible throughout the night, good for both

latitude and longitude calculations.
• Disadvantages: More complex calculations compared to

the Sun, accuracy affected by Moon's phase.
MOON
Back to Main
Planets:
• Primary use: Primarily used as backup or for
supplementary observations. Planets like
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are bright and move
noticeably, making them suitable for navigation.
• Advantages: Offer additional points of reference besides
the Sun and Moon.
• Disadvantages: Less predictable movement than the
Sun and Moon, require more advanced knowledge for
accurate use.
• This planet is t he se cond
planet from the Sun.
• It is the brightest natural
object in the sky after the
Earths moon.
• It has a very dense
atmosphere made up of
carbon dioxide and a little
amount of nitrogen.
• Venus completes an orbit
every 224.65 Earth days.
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• This planet is the fourth
planet from the Sun.
• It is the second smallest
planet in the solar system.
• Mars has two small moons
Phobos and Deimos.
Back to Main
• This planet is the fifth planet from
the Sun.
• Jupiter is classified as a gas giant and
is made up of primarily hydrogen and
a quarter helium.
• Has the fastest rotation of all other
planets. Completes a rotation every
ten hours.
• Jupiter has 53 named moons and
another 26 awaiting official names.
Combined, scientists now
think Jupiter has 79 moons.
Back to Main
• This planet is the sixth planet from
the Sun.
• Saturn’s rings are made up of
mostly ice particles and smaller
particles of rocky debris and dust
• It takes Saturn 10,759 earth days to
make one revolution around the sun.
• Saturn has 53 named moons.
Back to Main
Stars:
• Primary use: Originally the primary method for
navigation, particularly for determining latitude
(Polaris). By identifying specific constellations and
measuring their angular distance above the
horizon, navigators could pinpoint their location.
• Advantages: Provide countless navigational reference
points due to their sheer number.
• Disadvantages: Requires extensive knowledge of the
night sky and constellations, calculations can be
complex, less accurate for determining longitude.
• It's important to note that while celestial
navigation was once the dominant method,
it has largely been replaced by modern
technologies like GPS.
• However, understanding its principles and

the significance of different celestial bodies
sheds light on our rich history of
exploration and our enduring connection
to the starry sky.
• Using celestial bodies for navigation,
also known as astronavigation,
requires a well-rounded set of
knowledge and skills.
• Here are some of the most important

ones:
Celestial Knowledge:
• Stellar identification: Recognizing constellations, bright
stars, and planets in both hemispheres. Learning their
specific names, appearances, and locations in the sky at
different times of year.
• Celestial mechanics: Understanding the movement of the
Sun, Moon, planets, and stars across the sky. This includes
concepts like declination, right ascension, sidereal hour
angle, and parallax.
• Ephemeris data: Knowing how to access and interpret data
from reference tables like the Nautical Almanac, which
provide the positions and movements of celestial bodies for
specific dates and times.
Navigation Skills:
• Sextant usage: Mastering the operation of a sextant, a
specialized instrument used to measure the angular
distance between celestial bodies and the horizon.
• Sight reduction: Calculating your position based on
observations taken with the sextant using
mathematical tables and formulas. This involves
accounting for various factors like
refraction, instrument corrections, and observer
location.
• Chart work: Plotting your position on a nautical chart
or map using the calculated latitude and longitude
from your sights.
• Dead reckoning: Understanding how to estimate your
position based on your course and speed, and how to
Celestial mechanics: to understand
more
about significance of celestial bodies
• First, Understanding the movement of
the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars
across the sky. This includes concepts
like declination, right
ascension, sidereal hour angle, and
parallax.
AND THIS CONCEPT WILL BE EXPLAINED BY
Time Diagram
TIME DIAGRAM
•A time diagram is a diagram on the plane of
the celestial equator or equinoctial in
which the celestial equator appears as a
circle, and celestial meridians and hour
circles as radial lines.
•It is used to facilitate solution of time
problems and other problems involving arcs
of the celestial equator or angles at the
pole, by indicating relations between
various quantities involved.
•Conventionally, the relationships are
given as viewed from a point over the
south pole ( Ps ) westward direction
being counterclockwise.
•QUESTIONS ?
Activity #1 Time diagram:
• Observer’s Meridian = 060°East • 3. GHA of star=
• GHA of Sun = 225 ° • 4. LHA of star=
• GHA of Moon= 120 ° • 5. LHA of Venus=
• GHA of Aries= 090 ° • 6. SHA of moon=
• 7. RA of sun=
• GHA of Venus = 135 °
• 8. RA of moon=
• SHA of star= 030°
• 9. RA of star=
• 1. LHA of sun=
• 10. RA of venus=
• 2. LHA of Moon=
LAB EXERCISE 4A
1. Observer’s Meridian 045
degrees East 11. LHA of sun
2. GHA of Aries 100 degrees 12. LHA of moon
3. GHA of Venus 160 degrees 13. LHA of Jupiter
4. SHA of star 090 degrees 14. RA of star
5. GHA of sun 180 degrees 15. RA of Venus
6. GHA of moon 070 degrees
16. RA of sun
7. GHA of Jupiter 100 degrees
17. RA of Moon
8. GHA of star
18. Meridian Angle of star
9. LHA of star
10.LHA of Venus
19. Meridian Angle of moon
20 Meridian Angle of sun
LAB EXERCISE 4B
1. GHA of star
2. LHA of star
11. Meridian Angle of star
3. LHA of Venus 12. Meridian Angle of moon
4. LHA of sun 13. Meridian Angle of sun
5. LHA of moon 14. Meridian angle of Jupiter
6. LHA of Jupiter 15. Meridian angle of Venus
7. RA of star
8. RA of Venus
9. RA of sun
10.RA of Moon
•

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Celestial

• Throughout history, celestial bodies have

• Advantages: Visible throughout the night, good for both

• Disadvantages: More complex calculations compared to

• However, understanding its principles and

• Here are some of the most important

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