Re:List of selected stars for navigation
by gmiller123456 on Tuesday September 24, 2019 @02:12PM
(#21063029)
Sextants aren't really made for use on land, you need a very flat horizon to use one, you can use an "artificial horizon" but you'll loose some accuracy. A sextant is made for observations at sea, where a ship would be bobbing up and down. On steady land, it's much easier to just measure the angle a star makes with a level base. I'm not sure of the exact name, I've seen old telescopes with a protractor on the side, and a level and compass on the base.
But, so long as it's just for fun, you can rely on your phone for updated star information and time.
I have a plan to do a bicycle tour from Canada to Mexico sometime in my retirement years (or sooner). Part of that included a 'Wouldn't it be quaint/interesting' desire to bring along an old sextant I inherited and see how close I could chart my progress to my actual location.
If the charts change that much over time, then this might work the way I was expecting.