[at-l] Coordinates for Katahdin

[qm1pooh at yahoo.com (Mike Keller)]

Hi there,
     This is my first time posting to this list, but I think I have the answer to this. I am currently a Quartermaster First Class (a navigation specialist) in the US Navy. Celestial navigation equipment (I assume a sextant) is of no use on land. This is because the sextant measures the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the sun or a star. Also, the time to the nearest second of Greenwich Mean Time that the angle is "shot" must be measured using a synchronized chronometer. Using these two measurements, you start doing nice complicated math formulas based on spherical trigonometry and the patterns of the heavens as measured at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, UK and at the US Naval Observatory in D.C. After this, you develop lines that are plotted on small scale ocean going charts (maps). The intersection of these lines is your position. However, with all the factors involved it is never more accurate than a couple of hundred yards, which is fine in the open
 ocean but not on land. Also, a typical sextant weighs about 5 pounds and is very sensitive because the angles are measured to the tenth of a second of arc. 
     As you can probably tell, I was very happy when we started using GPS day to day! We do practice celestial in case something would happen. Hope this helps!
QM1 Pooh
 
P.S. I am originally from Irmo SC, so I know Midlands Tech well.
 
 
 
Message: 28
Date: Mon, 28 Jul 2003 11:57:43 -0400
From: William Neal <nealb@midlandstech.edu>
Subject: RE: [at-l] Coordinates for Katahdin
To: "'Ferguson, J. Mark'" <Ferguson@CWF.org>, "AT-L List (E-mail)"
<at-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Message-ID: <51AD2128A961D411A8AC00508BAC633E0799F6E8@MAIL>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Are you sure?  Doesn't the ground move as the plates move?  ;-)

Speaking of Katahdin's location...  Has anybody ever used the equipment
sailors use to determine where they on the seas to determine where they 
are
on the trail?  I ask partly out of curiosity and partly because an 
"old"
sailor offered me his basic equipment (whatever that is) for my 
"retirement"
trip.  Since he did not have it with him, I'm not sure how big, heavy, 
etc.
it is.

He offered after I mentioned that I might like to do my own plotting as 
I
went up the trail on my "retirement" hike -- a hike I would take my own 
time
on and while hiking the white blazes, I would stagger all over the 
general
area.  An American walkabout.

William, The Curious Turtle

PS Of course as rainy as it's been this summer, maybe sailing equipment
would not be a bad idea.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ferguson, J. Mark [mailto:Ferguson@CWF.org]
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 11:48 AM
To: Ron Martino; AT-L
Subject: RE: [at-l] Coordinates for Katahdin


Try 45.9042N 68.9216W or UTM 19 506078E 5083190N or the always popular 
45
deg 54 min 15 sec N, 68 deg 55 min 18 sec W.






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