NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Hypothetical Exercise - Abduced By Aliens
From: Greg R_
Date: 2008 Jun 15, 22:18 -0700
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc
To post, email NavList@fer3.com
To , email NavList-@fer3.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
From: Greg R_
Date: 2008 Jun 15, 22:18 -0700
[The basis for this hypothetical celnav problem
has been discussed (at least in theory) on the list before, so let's try it with
a "for real" exercise]
After recovering from being unceremoniously
dumped on an unknown shore in his/her last adventure (not to mention draining
the sailing budget with salvaging the boat and the boatyard repair
bills), our intrepid navigator decides that a
several-weeks long cruise to somewhere in the distant islands would be just the
ticket. Several days into this idyllic voyage a definite feeling of relaxation
starts to set in - ah, now this is the life.
But of course, it was not to continue... after
toasting yet another glorious sunset at sea, our intrepid navigator suddenly
finds his/her reverie broken by a group of very bright lights moving rapidly
through the sky. After passing close abeam, the lights abruptly change course
and hover directly over the boat, illuminating it with what can only be a
several-billion candlepower searchlight. To his/her horror, the navigator
suddenly finds the entire boat being lifted out of the water and into the open
doors of what appears to be some sort of alien spacecraft. Then just as suddenly
as they appeared, the armada of alien spacecraft abruptly depart for an
uncharted (at least to us) part of the galaxy.
Luckily for our intrepid navigator, the aliens
are only curious and do him/her no harm. After a couple hours of poking and
prodding (and having a good laugh over the primitive Earthling navigation
equipment), they realize that the human lifeform is so vastly inferior to their
own that nothing further would be gained from holding him/her any longer and
they decide to return their captive back to Earth.
In an instant (at least in Earth time) they're
once again hovering over the navigator's home planet, gently place the boat back
in the water, and disappear once again before the navigator has a chance to
fully comprehend exactly what just happened.
But there's no time to dwell on this latest
adventure... like a good navigator s/he realizes that the most pressing problem
right now is to figure out where the boat is now located (at least it seems to
be on an ocean, which is a good thing...), but notes with some dismay that all
of the onboard electronic navigation/computer gear was apparently zapped by
being transported to the outer reaches of the galaxy.
However, all of the celnav gear (sextant, books,
plotting tools, chronometer, etc.) is still intact and onboard, evening twilight is approaching, and with an ironic sense of
deja vu the navigator takes these sights:
05:46:40Z Vega Hs =
16°38.8'
05:52:18Z Spica Hs =
54°43.4'
05:54:26Z Pollux Hs =
21°02.6'
Height of eye on the boat = 8 feet, index
error = 0.0', and assume standard atmospheric conditions (the
salvage/repair/refit budget didn't allow for purchasing a new barometer and
thermometer). Last known Earth date was June
14, 2008 - you can ignore any dilution of time factors (or other effects of
trans-space travel).
Where are we? And where is the nearest
civilization?
Discussion item: How would you go about solving
this particular navigation problem?
--
GregR
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc
To post, email NavList@fer3.com
To , email NavList-@fer3.com
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
