Navigation in Exploration

ISBN-13: 9783836428224 / Angielski / Miękka / 2007 / 136 str.

Lois A. Swanick

Opis

In the15th century, mariners established their location using "dead reckoning,"a technique that used superstition, experience, and some guesswork todetermine the position of a ship at sea. Ships, cargos, and lives by thethousands were lost because of inadequate navigation techniques andinstruments. This study focuses on two pivotal, simultaneous revolutions in theAge of Exploration. First, navigators had to move away from experience-onlyto extensive scientific training. Second, navigation instruments were invented,developed, and/or refined to provide accurate readings capable of providinguseful global positioning information. These factors combined to produce anexplosion of exploration that took mariners to the far corners of the planet,impacting governments and geosciences, astronomy and academics. Tounderstand this revolution better, we take a closer look at navigation during the1686 LaSalle expedition to Texas, particularly a unique nocturnal/planisphere,one of only four in existence worldwide and so accurate it can still be usedtoday. The book is for those with an interest in navigation, scientific instruments,astronomy, and archaeology.