<p>An early astrolabe, its name derived from Greek words for "star" (astron) and "to take" (lambanein), was an instrument with which a navigator "took the stars" to determine a vessel's position in the great expanse of the sea. From the simple wooden kamál developed by ancient Arab mariners to the modern navigator's electronic global positioning system, Taking the Stars: Celestial Navigation from Argonauts to Astronauts$I traces the long path of ingenious inventions developed for celestial navigation. Renowned collector Peter Ifland applies his talent for clear, engaging prose to describe the incremental improvements, world-changing advances, and well-intentioned failures that have marked the evolution of celestial navigation instruments for over 1,000 years. Two panoramas converge in these lavishly illustrated pages. One is a parade of wonderful--and often, wonderfully clever--devices for celestial navigation: among others, the kamál, the cross-staff and back-staff, the astrolabe, and the marvelous variations on the divided celestial circle--the half-circle, quadrant, quintant, sextant, octant, and their kin. The other panorama is a carefully delineated roll-call of the great craftsmen and inventors of celestial navigation instruments--the likes of Thomas Godfrey, Captain John Davis, John Dollond, Edward Nairne, John Hadley, and Jesse Ramsden.</p>

Taking the Stars: Celestial Navigation from Argonauts to Astronauts

Engineering & Transportation

Ifland, Peter

Transportation

Krieger Pub. Co

<p>If you have ever tracked the North Star across the night sky or held a sextant in your hand, you can learn more from this fine new study of celestial navigation. This book is a unique, concise resource for the history of navigation techniques that began in the 1840s using the stars to steer a ship -- but are still in use today with modern GPS technology. This authoritative book from Unlimited Publishing LLC includes a complete reprint of the rare first edition Captain Thomas H. Sumner wrote in 1843 to describe his new method for finding a line upon which a ship's position rested. Also included are translations of two articles from the 1870s in which French Naval Capitaine Marcq Saint-Hilaire published his new technique for establishing position using the estimated altitude of the celestial body.</p>

Line Of Position Navigation:: Sumner And Saint-Hilaire: The Two Pillars Of Modern Celestial Navigation

Science & Math

Vanvarenbergh, Michel

Astronomy & Space Science

Unlimited Publishing LLC

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