Product Description

Your All-in-One Navigation Tool Kit

Celestial navigation remains an essential skill for every mariner who ventures out of sight of land. In this era of electronic navigation, it is the perfect backup system, enabling you to determine your position when the GPS malfunctions or your boat loses electrical power.

Here in one volume is every bit of information you need to understand the process, take sights, and find your location anywhere in the world. Compiled for beginning and experienced celestial navigators alike, and elegantly designed on the assumption that 1-mile precision is perfectly adequate for backup navigation, this handy volume replaces $300 worth and thousands of pages of guides, tables, and almanacs.

The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator includes:

• A clear, concise primer/refresher that explains the entire process
• A five-year nautical almanac (2007–2011) for determining precise star, sun, moon, and planet locations at the time of sighting
• A star finder
• Sight reduction tables for crunching the numbers and producing a fix anywhere in the world

"The only complete self-contained work available. When your electronic navigation fails, 'steering by the stars' will guide you safely to your destination."—Sydney Afloat (Australia)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #217303 in Books
• Published on: 2006-12-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 176 pages

From the Back Cover

"A practical, convenient, and economical solution for the mariner who wants a backup system to GPS that contains all the essential instructions and data."—Foundation for the Art of Navigation

Your All-in-One Navigation Tool Kit

Celestial navigation remains an essential skill for every mariner who ventures out of sight of land. In this era of electronic navigation, it is the perfect backup system, enabling you to determine your position when the GPS malfunctions or your boat loses electrical power.

Here in one volume is every bit of information you need to understand the process, take sights, and find your location anywhere in the world. Compiled for beginning and experienced celestial navigators alike, and elegantly designed on the assumption that 1-mile precision is perfectly adequate for backup navigation, this handy volume replaces $300 worth and thousands of pages of guides, tables, and almanacs.

The Complete On-Board Celestial Navigator includes:

• A clear, concise primer/refresher that explains the entire process
• A five-year nautical almanac (2007–2011) for determining precise star, sun, moon, and planet locations at the time of sighting
• A star finder
• Sight reduction tables for crunching the numbers and producing a fix anywhere in the world

"The only complete self-contained work available. When your electronic navigation fails, 'steering by the stars' will guide you safely to your destination."—Sydney Afloat (Australia)

George G. Bennett, Ph.D., is the owner and director of CN Systems, which produces navigational calculator and computer software. He is the former head of the School of Surveying, Faculty of Engineering, at the University of New South Wales. An elected Fellow of the Institution of Surveyors and the Institute of Navigation, he has served as a visiting scientist at Her Majesty's Nautical Almanac Office at the Royal Observatory.

About the Author

Dr. George G. Bennett owns and directs CN Systems, which produces navigational calculator and computer software. He has navigated boats in a number of major ocean races, received numerous honors, and taught navigation for 20 years.

Customer Reviews

Excellent Reference Work
Excellent reference work with everything you need in one place to accompany your sextant. Some subjects are assumed and so if you are just learning, I recommend another book on the basics of the subject to accompany this one. But this one is a must have!

Disappointed
Not for the beginner. As a compendium of a nautical almanac, it works, as a primer or tutorial, a very poor. The examples are very poorly documented and it is assumed that the reader can decipher the calculation processes. As a starter book, I would look at "Celestial Navigation in a Nutshell" by Hewitt Schlereth instead.

Interesting and surprisingly complete reference!
I had the prior version of this book and loved it. However, the tables that are included are only good for about 4 years and my old one was about 2 years out of date. I loved my previous one and used it a lot as I practice to stay "current" relative to celestial navigation. I find that this reference and its self-contained approach is very accessible, easy to use and is surprisingly accurate. I'm glad I'm keeping up with the "current" versions.

The service was excellent.