an
observation of a
star taken with a navigating
instrument to
determine an exact
position or direction. Well, it's true that they'
ve evolved simpler methods of taking
star-sights...
- Study and Intention (18 Aug. 66) an
observation of a
star taken with a navigating
instrument. When navigating ships, one of the methods of finding one's location is through the
use of heavenly bodies (such as planets and
stars). At
sea a
navigator uses a
special piece of
equipment through which he looks at
stars and measures their positions in relation to the horizon (the
line where the sky seems to
meet the earth). After taking several of these sightings, the
navigator is able to calculate the
position of his
ship on the earth. Well, it's true that they'
ve evolved simpler methods of taking
star-sights, but their textbooks are so complicated that the first
time I ever picked up a
copy of the Naval
Academy textbook on
navigation,
Dutton, I
read the first four sentences, I
read them again; they still didn't make any sense.
n. an
observation of the
position of a
star, taken with a
navigation instrument. In navigating, as on a
ship, one uses the
position of heavenly bodies to
determine one's location. A
star-
sight is done with an
instrument called a
sextant, which allows one to observe and calculate exactly how high a
star is in relation to the horizon and thus
work out the
ship's location.