Share #52 Hundreds of years before GPS there was celestial navigation. Let's see how astronomy and some basic equipment kept old time mariners on course.

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February 28, 2023

#52 Hundreds of years before GPS there was celestial navigation. Let's see how astronomy and some basic equipment kept old time mariners on course.

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Recently, we took a look at GPS and the space science that makes it work. This time, we're going back to an era when navigators had nothing but their equipment and the stars to tell them where they were, even on the open ocean.
Celestial navigation combined the sextant, almanac and chronometer to make a reliable navigation system that just needed one other thing, the sun and the stars... And some handy astronomical knowledge!

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