celestial navigation

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celestial navigation

Navigation of a ship or aircraft based on measurements of time and the positions of celestial bodies. Also called astronavigation.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

celestial navigation

(Navigation) navigation by observation of the positions of the stars. Also called: astronavigation

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

celes′tial naviga′tion

navigation by means of observations made of the apparent position of heavenly bodies.

[1935–40]

celestial navigation

astronavigation. Also called celo-navigation.

See also: Astronomy

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Noun

celestial navigation - navigating according to the positions of the stars

astronavigation

navigation, pilotage, piloting - the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place

Translations

navigation stellaire

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References in periodicals archive ?

"Principles of Celestial Navigation" provides a basic two-three hour introduction to celestial navigation.

New celestial navigation and geodesy training modules available online

This degree of precision is not, however, sufficient for the fine celestial navigation required of interplanetary flights or stellar visits; but for practical purposes, here and now, 99.99 percent of the time, Polaris can be considered as fixed at true north.

Relative relativity--a perspective

The name Alioth is derived from the brightest star in the constellation that was historically used for celestial navigation in maritime trade.

Alioth beefs up UAE presence

The show plays on the theme of celestial navigation, the technique of using the stars to navigate often employed by lost sailors, and this brings an interactive element to the show.

Get immersed in sailor tale

Beginning with the ancient skill of celestial navigation, this technology reporter for the Boston Globe guides us on a tour de force through the appearance of the compass, chronometer, radio, gyroscope, atomic clock, and more.

You Are Here: From the Compass to GPS, the History and Future of How We Find Ourselves

'It is time to rediscover the joys of celestial navigation,' argues Barrie, 'because using a sextant to find our way puts us in the closest possible touch with the natural world at its most sublime.'

Sextant

"According to suspects' confessions, they received training on use of weapons, RPGs, AK47s, M16s and MP15s, the manufacture and use of explosives, night sniping and marksmanship techniques, celestial navigation and use of co-ordinates, methods of smuggling through sea points, piloting boats, long-distance swimming, surveillance and monitoring and personal security and avoiding being followed," said Mr Al Oufi.

Terror suspects are named

For example, there must be optical observation device in the target which can measure the attitude vector from the target to another known point in terrestrial navigation and celestial navigation [2].

A novel method for target navigation and mapping based on laser ranging and MEMS/GPS navigation

As sharks circle the stricken vessel, he must use celestial navigation to chart a course back to humanity via the nearby shipping lanes.

ALL IS LOST (12A)

Astrologer Don Cerow presents When the Dragon Wore the Crown - Center and Circle (also available as an ebook, 9780892545940), a survey of astrology over a period of over six thousand years (7000 BC to 200 AD), with particular emphasis on the role of the constellation Draco, and its role in mythology amid various human cultures as well as in the zodiac, celestial navigation, and farming.

When the Dragon Wore the Crown

The young Hawaiian voyagers learned the ancient techniques of celestial navigation from one of the last remaining practitioners on earth, a Micronesian named Mau Piailug, who in 1976 successfully steered the new canoe, Hokule'a, from Hawaii to Tahiti using only the stars, swells, and seabirds as guides--a feat many Western sailors said couldn't he done.

Star voyagers: the Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson hopes his next journey across the Pacific will chart a course for sustainability

He continued to learn and educate himself in navigation by taking courses from the Worcester Power Squad, and celestial Navigation from the Mystic Seaport Planetarium in Conn.