Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age (Paperback)

by John Karl (Author)
Key Phrases: vertical error, azimuth rules, navigation triangle, Nautical Almanac, North Pole, Great Bahama Banks (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Covers all modern methods of celestial navigation including H.O. 229 and 249, direct calculations using calculators and 72 different exercises in five categories of interest.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Paradise Cay Publications (August 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939837757
• ISBN-13: 978-0939837755
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,632 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #7 in	Books > Nonfiction > Transportation > Reference
  #55 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute "must-have" for offshore navigators and a readily accessible self-teaching tool., November 3, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Written by physicist, pilot, sailor, and fifty-year veteran of celestial navigation John Karl, Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age is a practical guide to the skill and science of celestial navigation for offshore navigators. Compact without being abridged, Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age is tailor-written for the modern era of computers, calculators, and online resources. Though the traditional methods of "working a sight" is covered, the meat of Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age carefully instructs the reader in the use of a simple and inexpensive scientific calculator. From the basics of coordinates, to sun sight reductions and lunar distance sights, to sextant adjustments and altitude corrections, and an exhaustive wealth of appendices, Celestial Navigation in the GPS Age is an absolute "must-have" for offshore navigators and a readily accessible self-teaching tool.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Celestial navigation in the gps age, January 26, 2008

By	Alan Schultz (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've read through,looked at several books on celestial navigation, a subject that has captured my interest. Mr. Karl's book offers about the clearest explaination of "the navigational triangle" that I have come on. Historical comment on the sad fate of Capt. Sumner, of Sumner line navigation is also interesting. A small reproduction of the painting, Capt. Sumner Discovers the Celestial Line of Position catches the viewers eye too.

Most interesting and encourageing to me was the following. In the section on the navigational triangle, the author made a statement that seemed wrong. Curious about this, I e-mailed the author, c/o his publisher, Paradise Cay Publications of Arcata California and Celestaire of Wichita, Kansas jointly, the people at Paradise Cay sent my inquire on to Mr. Karl, who was kind enough to respond, in effect, turning on the light in a poorly lit room.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top Notch, May 14, 2009

By	Seth Smith (Brandon, MS USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I cannot possibly say enough good things about this book. It is so well authored, so well written, and so thorough that anyone interested in CelNav would be completely amiss not to buy this book. Because I spend so much time studying the subject, I came to a point where I began studying the algorithms, celestial mechanics, and mathematical theory behind CelNav and wanted to move into deeper, more intensive areas of the subject with the intention of eventually being able to calculate the very orbits that we derive our almanac data from....however, I was unable to break into this seemingly unattainable realm because of the overwhelming circular nature of the texts and dicussions that tend to predominate regarding the subject. THIS BOOK was the key that unlocked those areas for me. You will find yourself amazed at how much "meat" each and every line of this book contains, it's as though each sentence offers new and equally important light to the study of CelNav. You will, as I did, I'm quite sure, read and re-read this book with the result that your understanding of CelNav will be deepened a hundred-fold. If the price of books were determined by the significance of their contents, this one would cost millions.