A Device to Determine Position Rapidly Without Calculation

Extract

The problem of the determination of the observer's position on the Earth can be most easily solved in terms of the equatorial coordinates of the observer's zenith. From Fig. 1, in which the inner circle represents the Earth and the outer circle the celestial sphere, it can be seen that the zenithal point on the celestial sphere is its intersection with the prolongation of the radius to the observer's position. The geographical latitude of the observer is equal to the declination of the observer's zenith, and the geographical longitude is equal to the difference between Greenwich sidereal time (G.S.T.) and the right ascension of the observer's zenith. We can obtain G.S.T. by interpolation from a nautical almanac or directly from a separate watch or clock set to keep sidereal time.