Celestial navigation

Celestial navigation is a method of navigation where a person figures out their location and direction using the stars in the night sky. It has been used by sailors to help them find their way in the night. They look for familiar stars or constellations, which will help them find their way.

Celestial navigation involves comparing the angle of certain stars to other stars and how high they are above the Earth's horizon. By doing this, a person can find their longitude.

Celestial Navigation Media

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  A diagram of a typical nautical sextant, a tool used in celestial navigation to measure the angle between two objects viewed by means of its optical sight

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  SunMoon(annotated)

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  Using a marine sextant to measure the altitude of the Sun above the horizon

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  Two ship's officers "shoot" a morning sight with sextants, the Sun altitude (1963).

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  The relative longitude to a position (for example Greenwich) can be calculated with the position of the Sun and the reference time (for example, UTC/GMT).