UNIT.

1 10 hrs

Celestial Sphere and Equinoctial System of Coordinates:

Celestial sphere, celestial poles, celestial meridians and equinoctial;
vertical circles; prime vertical; Ecliptic; Obliquity of the ecliptic;
Equinoctial as a fixed reference plane; First Point of Aries as a reference;
Equinoctial system of co-ordinates; Calculation based on above.
 Navigation
The word ‘navigation’ comes from latin word navis meaning ship and the
word agere meaning to move or direct. There are four basic methods of
navigation at sea:
Piloting (reaching from one place to other using landmarks light houses,
buoys, beacons etc).
Dead reckoning (method of calculating position from a known position
using courses steered, distances steamed etc and sailing accordingly).
Electronic navigation (navigation by using LORAN, eNavigation, GPS,
Glonass, radar etc).
Celestial navigation (finding ships position using the sun, the moon,
planets and stars).
In practice, combination of all these methods is used to sail from one port
to the other. Time is integral to all the methods of navigation either for
distance steamed, or for calculating positions or for estimating time of
arrival etc.
As we know position of all heavenly bodies with respect to the observer on
the earth’s surface change with time. Position of different heavenly bodies
on the celestial sphere is tabulated with reference to Greenwich Mean
Time. Knowing the position of the celestial body and by finding the true
zenith distance of the body one gets circles of equal altitude or position
circles. The intersection of two or more position circles is the position of
the observer.
In order to use celestial bodies(the sun, planets, moons, and stars) for
position fixing it is required that we know their position in the sky. The
position of a celestial body is defined on the celestial sphere by using
different coordinate systems based on their purpose. The coordinate
system is used are equinoctial system, Horizon system and ecliptic system.
In celestial navigation, the earth is assumed to be a perfect sphere, located
at the centre of the universe. At night when we look at the sky we see all
heavenly bodies located on a hemispherical Dome called the celestial
sphere. The earth is assumed to be stationary due to which all celestial
bodies appear to move on the celestial sphere. The grid for pinpointing
position of a celestial body maybe imagined to be created by projecting
the earth’s grid on the celestial sphere with light source at the centre of
the earth.
 CELESTIAL SPHERE
The vast expanse of space that surrounds the Earth is called the celestial
sphere. It appears to surround the earth like a vast dome placed over the
Earth. It is assumed to be a concentric sphere of infinite radius with its
centre as the centre of the Earth. All astronomical bodies such as Sun,
Moon, Stars and Planets are assumed to lie on the surface of the celestial
sphere.
If the Earth were to be transparent and a source of light were to be
installed at its centre the projections of various reference points/lines on
the Earth would have equivalent points/lines on the surface of the celestial
sphere.
 CELESTIAL SPHERE
Celestial Sphere: It is a sphere of immense radius whose centre is same as
centre of the earth. It is the sphere on which all celestial bodies appear to
lie. As calculations in celestial navigation are based on angular
measurements, the radius of the earth is irrelevant. It can also be defined
as sphere of infinite radius concentric with the earth.
In order to use heavenly bodies for position fixing it is required that we
know their position in the sky. The position is defined on the celestial
sphere using different coordinate systems based on their purpose.
The coordinate systems used are: Equinoctial system,
Horizon system, &
Ecliptic system.
 Equinoctial System of Coordinates
The coordinates used to define the position of a celestial body on the
celestial sphere in equinoctial system are Declination & Greenwich Hour
Angle. This system of coordinates is used in Nautical Almanac to define
the position of celestial body at any instant of the year.
 The Horizon System
The system is based on the position of the observer and the coordinates
are measured with reference to his meridian and plane. In this system
reference great circles are
a) Observer’s Rational Horizon &
b) His Celestial meridian.
The coordinates are
a) Altitude or Zenith Distance &
b) Azimuth
 CO-ORDINATES

EARTH CELESTIAL SPHERE

Geographic Poles Celestial Poles
Equator Equinoctial
Meridians Celestial Meridians
Parallels of Lat Declination Circles
Position of Observer Zenith of Observer
 Definitions
Celestial Poles: Earth’s poles when projected on to the celestial sphere is
called the Celestial Pole and is 90° away from the equinoctial.
Equinoctial: It is a Great Circle on the Celestial Sphere whose plane is
same as the plane of the Earth’s equator. It is the projection of the equator
on the celestial sphere.
Parallels of Declination: Parallels of latitudes on the Earth projected onto
the Celestial Sphere are called Parallels of Declination.
Celestial Meridians: Celestial Meridians are semi great circle that pass
through the Celestial poles. They cross the equinoctial and all Declination
Circles at right angles.
Declination: Declination of the Celestial body is the arc of a celestial
meridian, or the angle at the Centre of the Celestial Sphere, measured
between the equinoctial and the Declination Circle passing through that
body. It has a value between 0° and 90° North or South.
Declination Circles/ Parallels of Declinations: These are small circles on
the celestial sphere parallel to the plane of equinoctial. Declination circles
may also be defined as projection of parallels of latitude on the celestial
sphere.
The Observer’s Zenith: It is the point on the celestial sphere vertically
above the observer i.e. the point at which a straight line from the centre of
the Earth through the observer meets celestial sphere.
The Observer’s Nadir: It is the point on the celestial sphere vertically
opposite his Zenith.
Vertical Circle: These are great circles on the celestial sphere passing
through the observer’s Zenith & Nadir.
Rational Horizon: Rational Horizon is a great circle on the celestial
sphere, the pole of which is the Observer’s Zenith or the great circle, every
point on which is 90° from the Observer’s Zenith. The celestial horizon is
always perpendicular to the navigator.
Prime Vertical Circle: It is the vertical circle passing through East West
points of observer’s rational horizon. This great circle is reference used for
defining amplitude of a body.
Principal Vertical Circle: It is the vertical circle passing through North
South points of observer’s rational horizon. This great circle is reference
used for defining azimuth of a body.
The coordinates of the position of a celestial body, defined using the
horizon system, would vary depending on the observer’s position on the
Earth, because its altitude & azimuth at any instant would have different
values when measured from different positions on the Earth. The nautical
almanac therefore lists the position of celestial bodies using the Equinoctial
system by tabulating the Declination & GHA or SHA of the celestial
bodies.
In celestial navigation, finding the observer’s position is prime objective,
the problem is solved by correlating coordinates of a body in Equinoctial
system, with those in Horizon system.
 Geographical Equinoctial
Coordinate System Coordinate System
Sphere Earth Celestial Sphere
Grid Meridians Celestial Meridians
Parallels of Latitude Parallels of
Declination
Reference Equator Equinoctial
Meridian of Celestial Meridian of
Greenwich Greenwich
Coordinates Latitude Declination
Longitude Greenwich hour angle
 System Geographical Equinoctial Horizon

Horizontal Ref. Equator Equinoctial Rational

Horizon
Horizontal Grid Parallels of Lat Parallels of dec or Parallels of Alt
dec circle
Vertical Ref. Prime Meridian Celestial meridian Principle/Prime
passing GW, Aries, Vertical
Observer
Vertical Grid Meridians Hour Circle or Cel. Vertical Circles
Meridian
Horizontal Longitude GHA, SHA, LHA Az, Az angle or
Coordinate amplitude
Ver. Coordinate Latitude Declination True Altitude
Poles Earth’s Pole, N/S, Cel Poles Zenith & Nadir
N/S
PZX Sides Co-Lat, PZ Polar dist.., PX Zenith dist., ZX
Motions of Bodies of the Solar System
Astronomers distinguish between twos principal motions of celestial
bodies. Rotation is a spinning motion about an axis within the body,
whereas revolution is the motion of a body in its orbit around another
body. The body around which a celestial object revolves is known as that
body’s primary. For the satellites, the primary is a planet.
For the planets and other bodies of the solar system, the primary is the
sun. The entire solar system is held together by the gravitational force of
the sun. The whole system revolves around the centre of the Milky Way
Galaxy and the Milky Way is in motion relative to its neighbouring
galaxies.
In common with other planets, the earth rotates on its axis and revolves in
its orbit around the sun.
The Sun’s Orbit: It is assumed that the Earth is stationary and that all
celestial bodies move along the surface of the Celestial Sphere. The Sun’s
Orbit is inclined to the equinoctial by about 23°26.5’ maximum Northerly
Declination (about 23° 26.5’N) occurs around June 22nd and the maximum
Southerly Declination (about 23°26.5’S), around December 22nd .There
are two specific reference points, on the Sun’s orbit, called the First Point
of Aries γ & the First Point of Libra Ω. They are also referred to as the
equinoctial points.
Ecliptic: The ecliptic is the path the sun appears to take among the stars
due to the annual revolution of the earth in its orbit. It is considered a
great circle of the celestial sphere, inclined at an angle of about 23°26’ to
the celestial equator, but undergoing a continuous slight change. This
angle is called the obliquity of the ecliptic. This inclination is due to the
fact that the axis of rotation of the earth is not perpendicular to its orbit.
It is this inclination which causes the sun to appear to move north and
south during the year, giving the earth its seasons and changing lengths of
periods of daylight.
Ecliptic: Ecliptic is a Great Circle on the Celestial Sphere drawn in the
same plane as the Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
Obliquity of the Ecliptic: The angle at which the Ecliptic crosses the
Equinoctial is called the Obliquity of the Ecliptic. The value is 23° 27’
(approximately).
First Point of Aries: The First Point of Aries is that point on the surface of
the Celestial Sphere where the Sun’s path crosses the Equinoctial from
South to North. This occurs around 21st March and is called Vernal
Equinox. The Sun’s Declination at this point is 00° 00’. It is represented
by Greek Letter γ.
First Point of Libra: The First Point of Libra is that point on the surface
of the Celestial Sphere where the Sun’s path crosses the equinoctial from
North to South. This occurs around 23rd September and is called
Autumnal equinox. The Sun’s declination at this point is 00° 00’. It is
represented by the symbol Ω.
Note: The Celestial Meridian passing through the First Point of Aries is
used as a reference Meridian from which the East/West coordinates on
the Celestial Sphere are measured.