NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: On the integration of location and data
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2009 Nov 3, 18:00 -0000
From: George Huxtable
Date: 2009 Nov 3, 18:00 -0000
Brad defends the Celestron Skyscout, which got a bit of a thrashing last time round, perhaps unfairly, in the long-running thread "learn the stars, by phone", back in May. It was the result of unfeasible claims (later withdrawn) made by Celestron's publicity people about its insensitivity to distortion of the Earth's magnetic field. And it was on the basis of those claims that some fanciful projections were made on Nav-list about what might become possible in terms of pointing-precision; claims which are now being repeated. I have no doubt that in free-space, without magnetic distortions, and where there's no motion of the observer, it does its job perfectly well. Unfortunately, in our modern environment one can't go far without coming close to some iron or steel. And its gravity-sensing requirement prevents use aboard a vessel or vehicle, just where the pointing ability might be most useful. The Skyscout itself is a bit of a distraction to the present thread, and I have no wish to knock it. But if anyone wishes to continue that discussion, I can supply some additional data about its sensitivity to external magnetic fields, which was not available before. George. contact George Huxtable, at george@hux.me.uk or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222) or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ NavList message boards: www.fer3.com/arc Or post by email to: NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList+@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
