Submission + - Naval Academy Reinstates Teaching of Celestial Navigation
HughPickens.com writes: At the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, midshipmen studied celestial navigation for more than a century, until 1998 after a decision that came after months of discussion that began with a 1996 curriculum review. Midshipmen were relieved. Celestial calculations were painfully difficult, requiring a nautical almanac and volumes of tables. Now Tim Prudente reports at the Capital Gazette that the Navy has reinstated the teaching of celestial navigation in the manual issued two months ago. The first midshipmen to receive training were juniors during this past summer school. Future classes will learn theories of celestial navigation during an advanced navigation course. And the Class of 2017 will be the first to graduate with the reinstated instruction.
But is there really any point in knowing how to navigate by the stars in a world of GPS? "In the event that we had to go into a national emergency, we would probably have to shut the GPS down because it can be used by potential enemies," says retired Navy Capt. Terry Carraway. "We went away from celestial navigation because computers are great," says Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Rogers, the deputy chairman of the academy's department of seamanship and navigation. "The problem is, there's no backup." In Annapolis, celestial navigation instruction ended loudly in 1998. "First came the old salts, who fear the military school will no longer produce 'real' sailors. Knowing how to navigate by the stars, they say, is the mark of a mariner. Then came the profit-seekers, who asked if they could inherit the academy's $1,500 sextants. Such devices, inquirers said, would be a nice addition to their museum, a nice mantle piece, or of some use out on the yacht." "It is a core competency of a mariner," says Director of Professional Development Cmdr. Adan Cruz. "If we can navigate using celestial navigation, then we can always safely get from point A to point B."
But is there really any point in knowing how to navigate by the stars in a world of GPS? "In the event that we had to go into a national emergency, we would probably have to shut the GPS down because it can be used by potential enemies," says retired Navy Capt. Terry Carraway. "We went away from celestial navigation because computers are great," says Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Rogers, the deputy chairman of the academy's department of seamanship and navigation. "The problem is, there's no backup." In Annapolis, celestial navigation instruction ended loudly in 1998. "First came the old salts, who fear the military school will no longer produce 'real' sailors. Knowing how to navigate by the stars, they say, is the mark of a mariner. Then came the profit-seekers, who asked if they could inherit the academy's $1,500 sextants. Such devices, inquirers said, would be a nice addition to their museum, a nice mantle piece, or of some use out on the yacht." "It is a core competency of a mariner," says Director of Professional Development Cmdr. Adan Cruz. "If we can navigate using celestial navigation, then we can always safely get from point A to point B."
