How can stars be used to navigate

Alex is a seasoned survivalist, with a passion to all things related to prepping, hiking and living off the grid. Survival hatchets are essentially a staple tool for not only survivalists but avid campers and outdoorsmen alike. Hatchets are not the same as axes; they are completely different in design as well as It should come as no surprise that hiking will require certain types of gear and clothing, and people usually only think of hiking boots.

Another piece of clothing that often gets overlooked for Skip to content. This star sits almost exactly at the Celestial North Pole and does not move throughout the night. If you lower an imaginary line directly to the horizon, you have found north. Use pointer stars if you cannot locate Polaris right away. Dubhe and Merak stars form the wall of the dipping part of the Dipper, farthest from its handle. Stretch a line through them and away from the mouth of the dipping part. Continue this line for the same length again, and you arrive within 3 degrees from the North Star.

The Southern Cross is formed by 4 stars, which are the 4 points of the cross formation. The south is located at the point on this line. The point sits at about 4 lengths of the long axis. This is the South Celestial Pole. Look straight down from the South Celestial Pole toward the horizon.

Long before we had GPS units, satellites, and even a simple clock that could be relied upon to keep accurate time at sea on a rolling ship, sailors learned to identify the stars in the sky so they could use them to navigate out of sight of land. Hundreds of years ago, people made tools to navigate with that could measure angles between the stars and the horizon—this way they could do some calculations and figure out their latitude.

Some early celestial navigation tools were the cross-staff, the astrolabe, and eventually the quadrant, octant above , and sextant. You just need your eyes and a dark sky and a little guidance. The most important, and easiest star to find in the night sky is the North Star, or Polaris also called the Pole Star.

Look for Polaris, the North Star, to find north. Seek help from Orion to find south. Follow the stars for direction Just like the sun, stars travel across the sky from east to west. Want to improve your navigation skills? Related articles. Read more. Date September 14, Expert picks: best jackets for every kind of fall weather Our top 10 picks for jackets you can wear all day, every day, everywhere. If you find yourself heading the wrong direction, the advanced GPS in your Formula boat can get you back on track right away.

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