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Robert Eno wrote-


>Has anyone used a night vision scope for conducting star sights at
>sea?  The idea intrigues me and in theory it sounds like it would work,
>but I do not know anyone who has actually used one at sea.

An interesting question. Presumably you would use it in place of the
telescope, to show up both star and horizon. Otherwise, how well would the
sight-line of such a night scope be defined? And how would you check for
index error?. I only ask, because I am quite unfamiliar with such instruments.

Could a digital camera be used for the same purpose? Amateur astronomers
use quite ordinary arrays for looking at stars.

I think one of the difficulties would be the fast motion of the images with
respect to the screen as the vessel wobbled underfoot. The human eye is
good at assessing the relative positioning of star and horizon, even while
they are whistling across his field of view. An electronic screen could
find that job to be more difficult. Perhaps some image stabilisation would
be needed also.

But a sextant with lots of electronics attached: wouldn't that be getting
the worst of both worlds? The most satisfying aspects of a sextant are its
precision and its basic SIMPLICITY.

George.
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Contact George at george@huxtable.u-net.com ,or by phone +44 1865 820222,
or from within UK 01865 820222.
Or by post- George Huxtable, 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13
5HX, UK.

   

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