NavList:

Brad wrote:

"In searching the entire archive of the NavList, it appears as if we have spent no time in review of this table. There are some passing references to it by one Mr. John Brown. I suspect that is you John and that indeed you have actually used these tables, albeit some time ago. Fantastic! In your ringing positive review of these tables, you have taken up the side of defender and advocate. I'd like to give these tables a fair shake. By the evidence directly at hand, they were in use for more than 100 years (1846 through your apparent use in the 1960's."

Yes, I am that John Brown. Another John Brown has posted on Navlist, so perhaps some of us need to adopt avatars or a numbering system. But I digress.
I am appreciative of Burton's entire volume, not just the ABC tables, a condensed version of which is still published annually; see Reeds Astro Navigation Tables, 2013 edition. 167 years and counting!

I did not know of the existence of this high latitude supplement to Burton's until I read your original post and I am pretty well out of my comfort zone in Antarctica in more ways than one. I am not sure what you would like me to demonstrate that isn't covered in the notes. One thought was to use the tables to determine the initial GC course to, say, a fuel dump some distance from McMurdo base, using Dlon as the hour angle and latitude of the dump as the dec. Unfortunately the range of declinations in the supplement extends to only 62 degrees, so not 'well within the span of the presented table' in this instance. I don't consider this a serious shortcoming in Burton's work.

I dug out my old 'Cadets' Manual of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy' from pre-seagoing training days in 1960. Attached is an extract of historical interest (to me) from the period before HO 229 or HO 249 found universal acceptance at sea.

Best regards

John
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