I navigated across the ocean many days and nights using the sun and the north star (and about 42 other stars from time-to-time). (No sissy GPS in my day!!) These are methods tried and true over centuries. Nitpicking about the offset of polaris is ok if you're trying to get a buf to point juliet, but these techniques will get you towards home rather than further into the grimble. Good stuff!
I navigated across the ocean many days and nights using the sun and the north star (and about 42 other stars from time-to-time). (No sissy GPS in my day!!) These are methods tried and true over centuries. Nitpicking about the offset of polaris is ok if you're trying to get a buf to point juliet, but these techniques will get you towards home rather than further into the grimble. Good stuff!
The method I use is takes time to learn and u do have to make some adjustments for season and location. I look at the sun's location (height from horizon,for those that don't know). This does 2 things;1,w/ a little general knowledge of when the sun rises/sets,it tells me roughly the time day and,2,with some practice,I know roughly how many degrees from/to North is. NOT exact,but roughly moves 12 degrees an hour,1 hand above the horizon=1 hour. Practice w/ watch/compass until u get it. Works well
@seekertrth Summary: the sun is at certain number of degrees (compass bearing) at certain times of day. Not exact but helps ina pinch, even on most cloudy days u can tell roughly where the sun is + if ur not far off your trail/point, helps u beat the rain back to camp, too
Watch a Pre-January 8th copy of Inception. Listen closely when the actors say imagine, reality, and safe, or point pistols. You'll hear the words, Loughner, offin' her, part of the word Giffords, and much more. Some say they hear, do it.
2 problems with the presentation. First, at local apparent noon (the event, not time, when the shadow stick casts the shortest shadow, the azimuth of the sun is 180d in the northern hemisphere. Second, the north star is not exactly north. It can be up to 1d off of true north.
Not problems. You are Just nitpicking. Perhaps you have a better way. 1 degree is better than most compasses are capable of even with adjustment for magnetic declination. In fact the NS has been used for centuries to determine magnetic declination. It is also clear that local noon is all we are talking about here and it has nothing to do with the watch. You want to know when half the day is gone? use my method... or teach us all something instead of whining.
Fair enough. You will need a stick. Hold the stick at arms length while looking at Polaris, the Big Dipper, and Cassiopeia and line up the three along the stick. If the 3 line up so that the stick is horizontal, Polaris is on meridian and there is no correction (Polaris is 90d N). If the stick is vertical, then add 1d to your measurement. If the stick is 45d with the Big Dipper at the bottom, add 0.7d. If the stick is 45 d with the Big Dipper at the top subtract 0.7d.
Your exactly a pain in the butt. Other than at sea you dont need such an exact pin point location. If your on land you have a good idea which country your in. That kinda narrows it down a lot. So you get lost on the trail and hey presto north, south, east and west saves your arse using the great methods by slamaxe. No need for fancy long and latt unless your at sea. You knowing them shows to me your into sailing/maritime stuff and nit picking.
When the day is half over, the sun is on your meridian and the azimuth to the sun is exactly 180d. There is no need for a correction. You can check the local compass declination by this method -- any deviation at local apparent noon is the local compass declination.
Slamaxe's method can also give a fairly accurate reading of your longitude if you have a watch. Time the moment that local noon occurs (as close as possible to the moment that the short shadow falls). You will have to convert the time on your watch to Greenwich Mean Time and add or subtract the equation of time for the day. Convert this time to angular measurement (15d/hour, 15minutes of angle/ 1 minute, 15 seconds of angle/ 1 second). The result is your longitude.
Slamaxe's method can also give you latitude from the height of the noonday sun. You will need a map protractor and a length of cordage from the tip of the walking stick to the base of the marker of the shortest shadow. Measure the angle that the cord makes. This is the zenith angle of the sun. Your latitude is the sum or difference of the zenith angle and the sun's declination. There are online tables of the sun's declination and equation of time.
To summarize, Slamaxe's method gives you 1) an accurate NS line at noon for a compass check, 2) it can give you accurate latitude and longitude to within 5 miles or so of your actual position, 3) It can give you accurate latitude at night with some additions. It could even be modified to give accurate latitude and longitude at night (but that is beyond the scope of this reply).
Thanks for taking the time Mike. Most folks just complain but you took the time to make an informative post. I appreciate it. Probably more complicated than a lot of folks are ready to deal with but good none the less. The rest of the video covers some of the points you brought up... after all it is 2 hours long.
This is awesome...I'm a merchant mariner and learning celestial navigation at sea, it's nice to see the stars and not just look at a picture in a book
polaris stays in the same genral position regardless of season. However if you are close to the equator or in the southern hemisphere youll use what is called the southern cross. (but i don't know how that works.)
the pole star never moves it is almost as if it was put there for navigation purposes- so useful even the dippers handle cna determine direction for each season
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I navigated across the ocean many days and nights using the sun and the north star (and about 42 other stars from time-to-time). (No sissy GPS in my day!!) These are methods tried and true over centuries. Nitpicking about the offset of polaris is ok if you're trying to get a buf to point juliet, but these techniques will get you towards home rather than further into the grimble. Good stuff!
jbg43 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
I navigated across the ocean many days and nights using the sun and the north star (and about 42 other stars from time-to-time). (No sissy GPS in my day!!) These are methods tried and true over centuries. Nitpicking about the offset of polaris is ok if you're trying to get a buf to point juliet, but these techniques will get you towards home rather than further into the grimble. Good stuff!
jbg43 3 weeks ago in playlist Uploaded videos
The method I use is takes time to learn and u do have to make some adjustments for season and location. I look at the sun's location (height from horizon,for those that don't know). This does 2 things;1,w/ a little general knowledge of when the sun rises/sets,it tells me roughly the time day and,2,with some practice,I know roughly how many degrees from/to North is. NOT exact,but roughly moves 12 degrees an hour,1 hand above the horizon=1 hour. Practice w/ watch/compass until u get it. Works well
seekertrth 4 weeks ago
@seekertrth Summary: the sun is at certain number of degrees (compass bearing) at certain times of day. Not exact but helps ina pinch, even on most cloudy days u can tell roughly where the sun is + if ur not far off your trail/point, helps u beat the rain back to camp, too
seekertrth 4 weeks ago
thumbs up for u
fahad2933 9 months ago
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Watch a Pre-January 8th copy of Inception. Listen closely when the actors say imagine, reality, and safe, or point pistols. You'll hear the words, Loughner, offin' her, part of the word Giffords, and much more. Some say they hear, do it.
jamestargetedindiv 11 months ago
I always have trouble finding the North Star. Guess I'll have to practice more.
enchantedfarmstead 1 year ago
in a couple billion years the ns will be in the south some where
dandotreillydot42058 1 year ago
"The Big Dipper". That's what the girls call me.
SultanRoyal 1 year ago
Great job fella thanx very much.
branni79 1 year ago
Very useful... this knowledge may save your life...
felipalillo 1 year ago
my ass has night vision.....
00Avenger17 1 year ago
very cool! i could actually see that watch trick saving someones life someday
bluehorse888 1 year ago
2 problems with the presentation. First, at local apparent noon (the event, not time, when the shadow stick casts the shortest shadow, the azimuth of the sun is 180d in the northern hemisphere. Second, the north star is not exactly north. It can be up to 1d off of true north.
mikeblaw 2 years ago
Not problems. You are Just nitpicking. Perhaps you have a better way. 1 degree is better than most compasses are capable of even with adjustment for magnetic declination. In fact the NS has been used for centuries to determine magnetic declination. It is also clear that local noon is all we are talking about here and it has nothing to do with the watch. You want to know when half the day is gone? use my method... or teach us all something instead of whining.
Slamaxe 2 years ago 6
Fair enough. You will need a stick. Hold the stick at arms length while looking at Polaris, the Big Dipper, and Cassiopeia and line up the three along the stick. If the 3 line up so that the stick is horizontal, Polaris is on meridian and there is no correction (Polaris is 90d N). If the stick is vertical, then add 1d to your measurement. If the stick is 45d with the Big Dipper at the bottom, add 0.7d. If the stick is 45 d with the Big Dipper at the top subtract 0.7d.
mikeblaw 2 years ago
Add (or subtract) the correction to the reading from Slamaxe's string line sextant to get a more accurate reading of your latitude.
mikeblaw 2 years ago
@mikeblaw
Your exactly a pain in the butt. Other than at sea you dont need such an exact pin point location. If your on land you have a good idea which country your in. That kinda narrows it down a lot. So you get lost on the trail and hey presto north, south, east and west saves your arse using the great methods by slamaxe. No need for fancy long and latt unless your at sea. You knowing them shows to me your into sailing/maritime stuff and nit picking.
branni79 1 year ago
When the day is half over, the sun is on your meridian and the azimuth to the sun is exactly 180d. There is no need for a correction. You can check the local compass declination by this method -- any deviation at local apparent noon is the local compass declination.
mikeblaw 2 years ago
Slamaxe's method can also give a fairly accurate reading of your longitude if you have a watch. Time the moment that local noon occurs (as close as possible to the moment that the short shadow falls). You will have to convert the time on your watch to Greenwich Mean Time and add or subtract the equation of time for the day. Convert this time to angular measurement (15d/hour, 15minutes of angle/ 1 minute, 15 seconds of angle/ 1 second). The result is your longitude.
mikeblaw 2 years ago
Slamaxe's method can also give you latitude from the height of the noonday sun. You will need a map protractor and a length of cordage from the tip of the walking stick to the base of the marker of the shortest shadow. Measure the angle that the cord makes. This is the zenith angle of the sun. Your latitude is the sum or difference of the zenith angle and the sun's declination. There are online tables of the sun's declination and equation of time.
mikeblaw 2 years ago 2
To summarize, Slamaxe's method gives you 1) an accurate NS line at noon for a compass check, 2) it can give you accurate latitude and longitude to within 5 miles or so of your actual position, 3) It can give you accurate latitude at night with some additions. It could even be modified to give accurate latitude and longitude at night (but that is beyond the scope of this reply).
mikeblaw 2 years ago 2
Thanks for taking the time Mike. Most folks just complain but you took the time to make an informative post. I appreciate it. Probably more complicated than a lot of folks are ready to deal with but good none the less. The rest of the video covers some of the points you brought up... after all it is 2 hours long.
Be well.
Slamaxe 2 years ago
May have been asked before.. how does daylight savings time and Bush's perversion of it affect the watch trick? Thanks for sharing this..
FirstLandingOnMedusa 2 years ago
Incredibly simple and informative--will be using this to impress my wife on our upcoming camping trip!! Thanks!
chinaske70 2 years ago
This is awesome...I'm a merchant mariner and learning celestial navigation at sea, it's nice to see the stars and not just look at a picture in a book
Dulach 3 years ago
Great video.
5 *
danisagres 3 years ago
Great series, so when is the cave cooking one comming?
am60mo 3 years ago
Good vid, thx
SpamAccount009 3 years ago
great video,one of the best explanations ive seen on You Tube.Thanks.
infraredtechnician 3 years ago 2
So that's why they have the N S E W ring on the watch and you can rotate it
ninelivecat 3 years ago
That's cool using the celestial method to accurise the sunstick method
ninelivecat 3 years ago
A great explanation - thanks!
sausages1234 3 years ago
does polaris's position change with location or season? or is it always pointing north?
clifflindsey 3 years ago
polaris stays in the same genral position regardless of season. However if you are close to the equator or in the southern hemisphere youll use what is called the southern cross. (but i don't know how that works.)
drgonzomc 3 years ago
the pole star never moves it is almost as if it was put there for navigation purposes- so useful even the dippers handle cna determine direction for each season
porpoisefathom 3 years ago
NIce Video
joemc111 3 years ago
Great presentation. Very interesting and informative video series.
Sarastarlight 3 years ago
wow, thanks 4 uploading :) i like does night vision gadgets, but im use to see up the stars and wonder, and find my way out! 5 stars! :D
Galaxiaproductions 3 years ago
wow can you post one showing how your dogs are useful
3rdeye47 3 years ago
ron hood rocks!!!
sxdxfan 3 years ago 4