Session 2

The measure of time;

The use of time to measure longitude;
Sun coordinates in the Almanac.

Dominique Prinet www.MarineNavigationBooks.com

2021
Session 2 1
The class presentation
follows the book:

The exercises (questions and

answers) are in the Exercise Manual

Session 2 2
 Session 2

1. Review of Session 1

• Principles of Celestial Navigation

– Fixed boat, one or more Celestial Bodies
– Moving boat; Advanced LOPs

• Measures of Angles (Latitude)

– The sextant
– Errors: Index; Dip; Main
(Refraction; Parallax; UL or LL)

Session 2 3
 Summary of all the Sextant Corrections

FIG. 2.17

Session 2 4
 Breakdown of the Sextant Corrections

FIG. 2.16

Session 2 5
Example of the Main Correction

January 2003,
Apparent Altitude Ha: 13° 18.2’ (LL)
Main correction?

FIG. 2.15

Session 2 6
 Example of the Main Correction
January 2003, Apparent Altitude Ha: 13° 18.2’ (LL)

FIG. 2.18

Session 2 7
 Sextant Corrections
Exercise 4 (All corrections combined)
Calculate the “Observed Altitude Ho” of the sun above the horizon, after all sextant corrections.

Note the corrections during summer or winter months, and for Upper or Lower Limb.

Session 2 8
 Exercise 4, Answer

Session 2 9
 Session 2

1. Review of Session 1; the Sextant

2. Measuring the (Greenwich) time of the
sight:
– Time and Longitude

Session 2 10
 Longitude = (time difference between
local noon and Greenwich noon) * 15°/h

FIG. 3.1

Session 2 11
• How fast does the GP of the sun travel
over the Equator?

Session 2 12
• 40,000 km in 24 h, = 1,700 km/h
• Supersonic!
• The sun’s GP is known accurately (Almanac) for
any moment, by interpolation
• Our “circle of position” centered on the sun’s GP
is only as good as our measure of time
• Hence the problem of longitude, and the
Harrison chronometers.

Session 2 13
 The Scilly Islands

Session 2 14
 The “Longitude Act” of 1714 resulted from
the Scilly Isles disaster of 1707

Session 2 15
The Longitude Act
of 1714 to establish
the time at sea

Session 2 16
The problem of longitude is a problem of time:
What time is it in Greenwich when the sun
crosses the boat meridian?

Two approaches to measure time:

A). By astronomers:
Celestial tables (Moon, Jupiter)
B). By mechanics: Chronometer

Session 2 17
 Session 2

1. Review of Session 1; the Sextant

2. Measuring the (Greenwich) time of the
sight:
– Time and Longitude
– Time from the Heavens

Session 2 18
A) Time from the Heavens
Time from
the moon

360° in approximately
30 days, or 12 ° per
day, i.e. 0.5 ° (=30’0)
per hour. Equivalent to
0.5’ per min

Session 2 19
Time from
the satellites
of Jupiter

Session 2 20
 Session 2

1. Review of Session 1; the Sextant

2. Measuring the (Greenwich) time of the
sight:
– Time and Longitude
– Time from the Heavens
– Time from a mechanical device

Session 2 21
B) Time from a mechanical device:

Harrison’s
chronometers

Session 2 22
 Harrison Chronometer 1

Session 2 23
 Harrison Chronometer 2

Session 2 24
 Harrison Chronometer 4,
tested by Capt. Cook in 1769

Session 2 25
 Chronometer Error

• Chronometers have an “error curve”, established

before departure.

• For instance: “losing one second per day”, or

“gaining three seconds per week”

Session 2 26
• In order to establish the exact (UTC) time, the
total number of seconds of error needs to be
calculated since the day of departure. This is
the “chronometer error”. It accumulates during
the trip.

Session 2 27
 Chronometer Error

Example:
A chronometer is fast, and has
accumulated an error of 3 min 06 s
after a month at sea.
What is the actual UTC time when the
chronometer reads 14:01:04 UTC?

Session 2 28
 Chronometer Error

The chronometer is “fast”, so we need to

remove the error (i.e. “- 3:06 min”)

Chrono time: 14:01:04 UTC

= 14:00:64 14:00:64
= 13:60:64
- 3:06
Real time 13:57:58 UTC
Session 2 29
Exercise 5
Chronometer
corrections

Session 2 30
Exercise 5,
Answer

Session 2 31
 Session 2

1. Review of Session 1; The sextant

2. Measuring the (Greenwich) time of the
sight
3. Using time to measure longitude

Session 2 32
 Measure of Longitude

• Longitude is determined by time

measurements.

• Longitude = [time for the sun to travel from

Greenwich meridian (around 12:00 UTC)
to the boat meridian (meridian mid-day, in
UTC)] x 15°/h

Session 2 33
 Measure of Longitude

• Example:
Sun crosses Greenwich meridian at 12:05
UTC
Sun crosses the boat meridian at 20:17 UTC
Travel time for the sun: 20:17 – 12:05 =
8 h 12 min = 8 h & 1/5
Arc travelled: (8 + 1/5) x 15°/h = 120° + 3° =
123° ( = Vancouver longitude)

Session 2 34
• The official day is constant (for hours and
minutes and seconds to be constant) but
the length of the real day varies very
slightly throughout the year.

Session 2 35
• The real sun crossed the Greenwich at
12:00 UTC ON AVERAGE; each day,
however, it crosses the Greenwich
meridian a little earlier or later.

Session 2 36
Passage of the sun over the Greenwich meridian
(Almanac Tables)

FIG. 3.2

Session 2 37
Passage of the sun over the Greenwich meridian
(Almanac Tables)

Session 2 38
 Equation of Time, 2003

FIG. 3.3

Session 2 39
 “Time-zone time” =
Time along the Mid-Zone meridian (for B.C. : 120° W)
“Meridian time” =
Time along the boat meridian (Vancouver: 123° 08’ W)

FIG. 3.4

Session 2 40
• Conversion of arcs to times is given in a
single table in the Almanac, every quarter
of minute of angle, from 0° to 360°

Session 2 41
 Example of Conversion of arcs to times
(using 15° of apparent sun rotation = 1h)
Time for the sun to rotate by 123° 08.25’ of angle
(8 h 12 min 33 s)

FIG. 3.5

Session 2 42
 Exercise 6
Conversion of arcs to times
6.  Almanac table “Conversion of Arcs to Times”, to convert arcs (angles) to times

A. Determine the time difference corresponding to the angle (arc) between

the meridian of Greenwich (longitude: 0°) and that of the boat. This time difference
represents the time it takes for the sun to travel from one meridian to the other at
15° of longitude per hour.

Session 2 43
 Exercise 6, Answer

Session 2 44
• Conversion of times to arcs is given over
60 pages (one page per minute of time) in
the Almanac, second by second

Session 2 45
 Examples of conversion of times to arcs:
rotations of the Sun & Planets, Aries, Moon
in 57 min & 15 s

FIG. 3.6

Session 2 46
 Example 1 of conversion of time to arc
sun rotation in 14 min 00s (at 15°/h)

FIG. 3.7

Session 2 47
 Example 2 of conversion of time to arc
sun rotation in 07 min 08 s (at 15°/h)

FIG. 3.8

Session 2 48
 Exercise 7
Conversion of times to arcs
Knowing the time it takes for the Sun to travel from one meridian to another, we

can calculate the angular distance between the meridians, i.e. the difference in

longitude between the two meridians.

Session 2 49
 Exercise 7, Answers

Session 2 50
 Exercise 8
Prediction of UTC time when the sun
will cross the boat meridian

Session 2 51
 Exercise 8, Answer

Session 2 52
 Exercise 9
Meridian and zone times;
determination of longitude

Session 2 53
 Exercise 9, Answers

Session 2 54
 Session 2

1. Review of Session 1; the Sextant

2. Measuring the (Greenwich) time of the
sight: the Chronometer
3. Using time to measure longitude
4. Sun coordinates in the Almanac
(time of sight with round numbers of hours)

Session 2 55
 Declination (N or S)

FIG. 4.1

Session 2 56
 Seasonal changes in the Declination

FIG. 4.2

Session 2 57
 The two Limits of the Sun Declination:
the Tropics

FIG. 4.3

Session 2 58
 Rough Graphic Plotting of the Declination

FIG. 4.4

Session 2 59
 Example of North Declination
Sun, June 30, 05:00:00 UTC

FIG. 4.5

Session 2 60
 Example of South Declination
Sun, November 18, 09:00:00 UTC

FIG. 4.6

Session 2 61
 Greenwich Hour Angle
(counted Westward!)

FIG. 4.7

Session 2 62
 Example of GHA
(Point of longitude west) sun over Vancouver

FIG. 4.8

Session 2 63
Example of GHA
(sun west of Greenwich)

FIG. 4.10

Session 2 64
 Example of GHA
(point of longitude east) sun over Cairo

FIG. 4.9

Session 2 65
 Example of GHA (sun east of Greenwich)

FIG. 4.11

Session 2 66
 Exercise 10
GHA & Dec of the sun (on the hour)

Read the coordinates of the sun’s GP on the Almanac (GHA

and Dec) for the days and times (UTC).

Session 2 67
 Exercise 10, Answer

Session 2 68
End of Session 2