Getting Started in Celestial Navigation (The Marine Sextant)

Free and discount marine navigation courses: https://www.practicalnavigator.org/

This video is part 1 of the "Getting Started in Celestial Navigation" video series.

Part 1 of "Getting Started in Celestial Navigation," (The Marine Sextant) describes the marine sextant, it's parts, and how to measure the angle from the horizon to the sun. It also introduces the concepts of "limbs" and how to read the sextant.


Here are some additional resources pertaining to this lesson:

1. Wikipedia "Sextant" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sextant

2. How to build a simple sextant - http://www.tecepe.com.br/nav/CDSextan...

3. Artificial horizons - http://www.sailingmagazine.net/how-to...


Navigation Materials
All example problems in this course use the 1981 Training Nautical Almanac and HO229 (there are no example problems in this lesson).

1. The 1981 Nautical Almanac

Hardcopy 1981 Training Nautical Almanac - http://www.amazon.com/The-Nautical-Al...

Note you can also download for free or minimal price online by searching google, for example https://ebookpie.com/ebooks/300803-th.... You can download it from lapware.com if you pay the monthly fee for access. Sidenote - lapware is an amazing training tool!

2. HO229 - Sight Reduction Tables for Marine Navigation

Free download - http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.port...


3. Other materials of use

Free download of Bowditch (The American Practical Navigator) - http://msi.nga.mil/NGAPortal/MSI.port...

USCG licensing website. This contains all the possible questions on USCG exams - http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/training/exam...

The book I used to learn celestial navigation myself, and I think one of the best celestial navigation books out there, is "Common Sense Celestial Navigation" by Hewitt Schlereth - https://amzn.to/2O8evTa

Produced and presented by Christopher D. Nolan, USCG cutterman (8 years) and US merchant mariner (1600 ton Oceans).