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 As one who has enjoyed practicing celestial navigation and collecting and
reading everything I can find on the subject, the book "A Star To Steer Her
By" has eluded me.  I think it was out of print when I first looked for it,
but it is available now, used and new, so I bought a copy.
Now I wish I hadn't.  Chapter 2 has several diagrams that are most
upsetting.  They show a FLAT earth with a celestial object so close to the
earth surface as to suggest the difference in measured angle with the
horizon (Ho) is due to the fact that the object's rays are approaching at a
different angle instead of the object's parallel rays hitting different
spots on the earth at different angles due to curved surface of the earth
(ignoring horizontal parallax for the moon).  While on the surface (no pun
intended) it may not make that much difference (in both cases, the further
one is from directly under the object the less the angle with the horizon
[Ho]), to me it is so essential an understanding that I feel the author does
more harm then good with his book, regardless of the merit of his later
chapters.

I bought a used 4th printing edition (1994)... somebody please tell me these
diagrams have been fixed in a more current edition.

-- Joe Shields

   

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