Multimedia Gallery
- Navigation Methods: Celestial Navigation
One of the first effective models of bubble sextant for aeronautical use.
These aircraft served as flying classrooms for training U.S. Army Air Forces navigators in World War II.
"Black box" refers to more than just a flight data recorder for accident investigations. It often refers to electronic components in an aircraft that monitor or control flight or that support communication and navigation.
Black-faced Coucal and Long-tailed Cuckoo, Pacific Islands (Centropus melanops, Eudynamys tahitus)
A maritime sextant with a special bubble attachement to the eyepiece to aid in establishing a horizon in aeronautical use, circa 1919.
Weems used this sextant in training Charles Lindbergh and Lincoln Ellsworth.
A shortcut method of speeding up celestial computations.
This mechanical cassette was used with the Fairchild-Maxson Line of Position Computer.
To locate themselves on the open ocean, navigators can determine their position by observing the Sun, Moon, stars, or planets. Some of these techniques involved using the North Star, the Lunar Distance Method, and finding local noon with a sextant.
Student navigators learning about celestial navigation.