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Fifty-seven navigational stars and additionally the star Polaris are given a special status in the field of celestial navigation. Of the approximately 6,000 stars visible to the naked eye under optimal conditions, these selected stars are among the brightest and span 38 constellations of the celestial sphere from the declination of −70° to ...
A diagram of a typical nautical sextant, a tool used in celestial navigation to measure the angle between two objects viewed by means of its optical sight. Celestial navigation, also known as astronavigation, is the practice of position fixing using stars and other celestial bodies that enables a navigator to accurately determine their actual current physical position in space or on the ...
A star chart is a celestial map of the night sky with astronomical objects laid out on a grid system. They are used to identify and locate constellations, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and planets. [1] They have been used for human navigation since time immemorial. [2]
All stars but one can be associated with an IAU (International Astronomical Union) constellation. IAU constellations are areas of the sky. Although there are only 88 IAU constellations, the sky is actually divided into 89 irregularly shaped boxes as the constellation Serpens is split into two separate sections, Serpens Caput (the snake's head) to the west and Serpens Cauda (the snake's tail ...
Orion (constellation) Art. The Babylonian star catalogues of the Late Bronze Age name Orion MUL SIPA.ZI.AN.NA, [note 1] "The Heavenly Shepherd" or "True Shepherd of Anu" – Anu being the chief god of the heavenly realms. [22] The Babylonian constellation is sacred to Papshukal and Ninshubur, both minor gods fulfilling the role of 'messenger to ...
The positions of 57 selected stars are specified relative to the First Point of Aries. In Great Britain, The Nautical Almanac has been published annually by HM Nautical Almanac Office, ever since the first edition was published in 1767. [1] [2] In the United States, a nautical almanac has been published annually by the US Naval Observatory ...
The Gould designation for stars visible from the southern hemisphere, introduced by Benjamin Gould (1879), also lists stars by constellation, numbered by increasing right ascension. Hevelius and Bode both numbered stars within constellations similarly. Their number systems have fallen out of use, but their designations even now are occasionally ...
Southern constellations were important from the 14th to 16th centuries, when sailors used the stars for celestial navigation. Italian explorers who recorded new southern constellations include Andrea Corsali , Antonio Pigafetta , and Amerigo Vespucci .
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