"Each spring, billions of Bogong moths (Agrotis infusa) migrate hundreds of kilometres south to the Australian Alps, guided by the austral night sky. The discovery that they can find their way using only the stars — reported in an 18 June Nature paper — makes this moth the first invertebrate to be observed using celestial navigation for long-distance journeys."
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01935-x
#Moths #Nature #Migrations #Bogong #Australia #Navigation #CelestialNavigation
No doubt delayed by the postal strike, but I’m glad to finally have my hands on the 2025 edition of the Guide to the US Navy - complete with my piece on recent use of celestial navigation techniques by the crews of US Navy warships, and specifically about a recent Atlantic transit by the USS Porter. I wonder what other aspects of modern life will require analog alternatives when our digital solutions fail us? #warships #usnavy #writing #celestialnavigation
celestial navigation has been on my to do list for years. #AI and #ComputerVision beat me to it: https://www.popsci.com/technology/drone-star-navigation/
Navigating the high seas means precision is everything! 🌊 So, I created a Python script to filter my sextant readings on my #YachtmasterOcean passage from the Azores to Fernando de Noronha 🧭✨ Say goodbye to outliers and hello to a clean average! Now I can trust my stars (and my code) just a little bit more. Check it out here: https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/sextant-averager #CelestialNavigation #Python #Sextant #OceanPassage #Sailing #Navigation #Yachtmaster
🚢 Ahoy! I just launched nautical-waypoint-relative-calcs 🧭🌊 A handy tool for turning waypoints & timestamps into accurate course, distance, & speed (in knots!). Built this to help me place my estimated position for #CelestialNavigation on my #Yachtmaster Ocean Passage due to...well, my logbook's “creative” logging 📝. If you’re navigating without speed logs, check it out! ⚓️
🔗 https://github.com/kevinveenbirkenbach/nautical-waypoint-relative-calcs/
#SailingLife #OpenSource #Python #Nautical #Navigation #Sailing #CelestialNavigation
"When True Altitude 🌊 dips low beneath the Observed sky ☁️,
The Intercept whispers, 'Toward we fly' ✨.
But when True Altitude ⛰️ rises, towering high,
The Intercept calls, 'Away we must lie' 🌬️." - https://chatgpt.com/share/6719a349-2e48-800f-b0e8-11649b4a971b
#CelestialNavigation #TrueAltitude #SextantSkills #SailingLife #NavigatorLife #OceanAdventures #SeafarerWisdom #Intercept #SailingPoetry #MaritimeMagic #SailingCommunity #NauticalKnowledge
#CelestialNavigation in the "Golden Age of #Piracy": find the #Sun altitude using back-staff or Davis quadrant and protect your eyes
#navigation #astronomy #talklikeapirate #instrument #histsci #sailor
back-staff, c. 1711 photograph courtesy The Mariners' Museum, Peter Ifland Collection (1998.69.151)
Made port safely despite fog.
Have sextant. Will travel.
A first glimpse of the ship down a crowded side street promises boundless sea and unlimited sky.
Those who have cleared the lunar distance know what time it is.
Brought my #sextant to #FortMcHenry for some #celestialnavigation. Got my latitude within ~3km and longitude with ~18km. The latter would have been better, but I was using my cyclecomputer for a timepiece, and it doesn't report seconds.
I also sighted the Key Bridge while I was out there, got my distance within 1%. Math rules.
STAR TRACKERS: TELLING UP FROM DOWN IN ANY SPACE
https://hackaday.com/2020/04/02/star-trackers-telling-up-from-down-in-any-space/
#CelestialNavigation #Navigation #Astrogation
