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> On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 12:44:53 -0800, Royer, Doug wrote:

> >Rodney,yes and no to what you wrote below.Yes to a partly or full moon
> >providing a visible horizon 20 or so degrees on either side of the
> >moons'azimuth.No to not being able to measure altitude at all when the
> >moons' light is reflected off the surface of the water.

This caught my attention, given that Doug is an experienced ship's officer
with a great interest in celestial navigation. Like everyone else I've been
captivated by the spectacle of a broad swath of glittering light reflected
from the moon across a calm sea, and have tried to use this light to make
altitude observations of the moon in the middle of the night, with mixed
results. The problem I have found is being sure of the horizon line. For
some reason I'm not sure of even on a clear night (no visible cloud) the
glittering reflections seem to begin a little way short of the horizon. If
the (correct!) horizon can be discerned the sight works out OK. At sea there
is often low cloud hanging around the horizon so that could be a
possible explanation.

Can Doug, or anyone else, expand a little on why
> >No to not being able to measure altitude at all when the
> >moons' light is reflected off the surface of the water ?

   

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