
List of selected stars for navigation - bcaa7f3a8bbc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_selected_stars_for_navigation
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tjohns
This got me reading up on the topic, and apparently you can download a free
book from the FAA that covers how to do celestial navigation: Flight Navigator
Handbook,
[https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/a...](https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/FAA-H-8083-18.pdf)

(Apparently early models of the Boeing 747 even had a sextant port built into
the roof of the cockpit.)

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asdfman123
That's a lot of charts to be tattooed onto my forearm.

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gmiller123456
Such a tattoo would be pretty useless without a sextant, a good watch, and a
nautical almanac. And since any almanac would likely have the star charts too,
you can save your skin for something else.

You can't use static charts because the Earth wobbles a bit (called precession
and nutation), and doesn't rotate at a constant speed. This effect can make a
difference of being off my many miles just over a year, and 10's of miles over
a few years.

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UI_at_80x24
This is good to hear so thank-you for writing that.

I have a plan to do a bicycle tour from Canada to Mexico sometime in my
retirement years (or sooner). Part of that included a 'Wouldn't it be
quaint/interesting' desire to bring along an old sextant I inherited and see
how close I could chart my progress to my actual location.

If the charts change that much over time, then this might work the way I was
expecting.

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gmiller123456
Sextants aren't really made for use on land, you need a very flat horizon to
use one, you can use an "artificial horizon" but you'll loose some accuracy. A
sextant is made for observations at sea, where a ship would be bobbing up and
down. On steady land, it's much easier to just measure the angle a star makes
with a level base. I'm not sure of the exact name, I've seen old telescopes
with a protractor on the side, and a level and compass on the base.

But, so long as it's just for fun, you can rely on your phone for updated star
information and time.

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jdc
A combination compass - inclinometer would probably be good for his purposes.

