The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator

Dr. George G. Bennett is the former head of The School of Surveying, Faculty of Engineering at the University of New South Wales. He holds a PhD in geography/surveying and has published extensively in international journals in the fields of surveying and navigation. He has served as a visiting scientist at HM Nautical Almanac Office at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. He owns and directs a company producing navigational software sold in the U.S. and Australia. He is a fellow of the Institution of Surveyors and Institute of Navigation. An experienced sailor, he teaches navigation at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and has sailed as navigator in nine Sydney-Hobart races. HOMETOWN: Mosman, NSW, Australia

How To Work a Sight—An Overview1 Introduction2 Scope and Contents3 Equipment3.1 SextantPerpendicularity ErrorSide ErrorIndex Error3.2 Clocks4 Almanac Data4.1 Stars and Aries4.2 Sun and Planets4.3 Moon4.4 Summary4.5 Alternative Interpolation Method5 Planning and Observations5.1 Planning5.2 Sextant Observations5.3 Identification5.4 Observation Methods5.5 Sunrise, Sunset, and Twilight6 Sextant Altitude Corrections6.1 Dip Correction6.2 Index Correction6.3 Star and Planet Corrections6.4 Sun Correction6.5 Moon Correction6.6 Summary7 The Marcq St. Hilaire Method7.1 Intercept7.2 AzimuthAzimuth TablesWeir Diagrams7.3 The Position Fix8 Amplitudes9 Polaris9.1 Azimuth9.2 Latitude10 Sun Observations10.1 Running Fixes10.2 Meridian Observations11 Sight Reduction at Very Low AltitudesTables, Examples, and FormsGHA Aries and Star EphemeridesSun and Planet EphemeridesSun and Planet Interpolation and Altitude CorrectionsMoon EphemeridesMoon Declination InterpolationMoon (GHA-GMT) InterpolationMoon Altitude CorrectionsSextant Altitude Analysis ExamplePrediction and IdentificationLAT of Sunrise and SunsetLAT of Civil TwilightSight Reduction TablesAzimuth TablesWeir DiagramsPolaris (Latitude and Azimuth)Change of Altitude in 5 Minutes of TimeSight Reduction Example: Stars, Planet, and MoonRunning Fix Example: SunAlternative Interpolation Table (Calculator)Form: Sextant Altitude AnalysisForm: Sight ReductionForm: Sight Reduction (Plot)The Navigational StarsIndexConversion of Time to Arc